Survival
by MikiMoke
Summary: Aria thought she could start a new identity in Japan by making new friends. Maybe even make a new name for herself. Perhaps the zombie apocalypse will help it happen? Will she and her new friends make it alive? And will they all survive each other?
1. Characters

**So, yeah, here's the characters in **_**Survival**_**. As usual, the original edits are still there unless they are changed... If that makes sense...**

**~Miki**

...

_**Name:**_Aria Lambert

_**Nickname:**_Carrot (only a selected few can call her this)

_**Age:**_17

_**Gender:**_Female

_**Personality:**_Aria can be two different people sometimes. At her best, she is funny and laid-back with a caring side, and at her worst she is sadistic and paranoid, often talking to herself about what to do. She likes to tease people by having quiet arguments with herself, just to see their reaction. She is often called "big sister" by the kids in her street and a bully or an idiot at school, though she denies being a bully

_**Nationality:**_British

_**Family:**_All overseas - she's in a foreign exchange program. She lives with Yomi Suzumiya (17, f), Daisuke Suzumiya (39, m), and Junko Suzumiya (38, f) in Japan

_**Background:**_Aria never tells unless she is asked to, and all she says is that she comes from a wealthy family that lives in a huge mansion, but this is obviously a lie. People accept the lie, though, because they know she won't change her story.

_**Description -**_

_**Hair:**_Aria has orange hair that is wavy and around shoulder-length. It has earned her the nickname "Carrot" among her peers

_**Eyes:**_A light lilac colour

_**Height:**_Average height

_**Clothing:**_Blue hightops, grey skinny jeans, grey and orange striped shirt with long sleeves, grey and black striped hooded-jacket

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_Both ears have silver studs, but her left ear has a small gold hoop next to the stud

_**Weapons -**_

_**Main:**_A very old and very sharp Chinese sword that was given to her family six generations before her and was passed down to her before she left for Japan. She somehow snuck it through the airport, don't ask how...

_**Secondary:**_A dagger she keeps hidden under her shirt and tucked in a customised belt loop

_**Strengths:**_Agile both physically and mentally, and knows a lot about different kinds of blades

_**Weaknesses:**_Can't deal with depressed girls (despite being a girl) and can cook to save her life

_**Fears:**_She has claustrophobia because she was "accidentally" locked in the boot of a car by a so-called friend, and she spent almost a whole afternoon inside it until someone heard her screaming

_**Likes:**_People who don't bullshit her, dogs, swords

_**Dislikes:**_Spicy food, liars, people calling her Carrot without her permission

_**Sexuality:**_Straight

_**What kind of person do they like (what kind would they be paired with):**_A guy that cooks and balances her personality, more so a guy that treats her with respect

_**Misc:**_Meh, she can't eat curry without coughing on the first bite

...

_**Name:**_ Mei Todashi

_**Nickname:**_ N/A

_**Age:**_16

_**Gender:**_F

_**Personality:**_ She is very crazy, Rude, and cold. She likes be destructive and trashing cars and other things of the sort. She is a very very VERY bad cook but denies it, often trying to put her own input when someone else is cooking. She would most likely become friends with someone who is shy and quiet since she has a soft spot of shy and innocent girls. If she does earn one of these friends, if she ever hits them out of anger she would be very shocked and would run away where no one else is and cry. She curses a lot and will often put cursing into one word (ex: final-fucking-lee [finally]) She is very competitive and will try to outdo someone, whatever the thing is. She hates to be told what to do and will do the exact opposite.

_**Nationality:**_ Korean-American

_**Family:**_

N/A

_**Background:**_ Her parents left her at an adoption home when she was born. She always went house to house only to get sent back within a week. She decided to rely on herself from now on. She eventually got sent to Japan with another adoption center because her adoption family couldn't stand her. She absolutely adored girls who were the opposite from her but often scared them away with her blunt and crazy attitude. A rumor came to school saying she was lesbian but no one would pick on her because the first time a girl did she got sent to the hospital. She was often lonely but masked it with craziness and did juvenile things to get attention. On Z-day she was sunbathing on someone's roof and ended up sleeping on there.

_**Description –**_

_**Hair:**_ Short, Black, Fluffy and up to her shoulders. Is often messy

_**Eyes:**_ Bright Lavender

_**Height:**_ 5'7

_**Clothing:**_ She wears a white V neck that is cut to show her stomach with very light blue short shorts with white suspenders. She wears blue sneakers.

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ She has a 1 inch scar on her stomach from fighting a few girls who cheated and had a pocket knife w/ them.

_**Weapons – **_

_**Main:**_ Axe

_**Secondary:**_ Explosives

_**Strengths:**_ Climbing, not getting emotional, Upper body strength, cheering someone up

_**Weaknesses:**_ lower body strength (running, kicking, ect.), cooking, social skills, driving, intellect (always skips school), Shy and sweet girls.

_**Fears:**_ Thunder (believe it or not, she is VERY scared of thunder and will hide in a closet), Getting close to someone.

_**Likes:**_ Pocky, Being Destructive, Teasing people, Yo-yos

_**Dislikes:**_ Kids, judgemental people, people who try to hurt (physically and emotionally) someone who is her close friend

_**Sexuality:**_ Straight

_**What kind of person do they like (what kind would they be paired with):**_ A boy who is the complete opposite of her.

_**Misc:**_ She often likes getting people drunk, She turns into the crazy dancer drunk then knocks out in the most unnecessary place. She hates kids and enjoys killing them as zombies. If a kid is alive she will be super duper mean things to it. Think of her like Dallas Winston from the book "The Outsiders"

...

_**Name:**_ Misora Ishida

_**Nickname:**_ Sora

_**Age:**_ Sixteen

_**Gender:**_ Female

_**Personality:**_ Misora's quite a talkative young woman. Having been raised round a sibling who didn't talk much (if at all), she's become adapt to talking for more than one person. She needs to hear the noise to keep calm, so it makes sense that she's not particularly fond of quiet people. When you're as talkative as she is, you have to get used to people insulting or yelling at you to get you to shut up. And she has. Comments like 'Shut up, whore!' and things like that have long since stopped fazing her. She's not perfect. Far from it, actually. She gets scared, she's prideful at times, and she can be unkind and selfish like anyone else. She has her flaws, and she embraces them as a part of who she is. In the beginning, she was frightened of Them, yes, and there was a point where she was afraid that she wasn't going to make it out alive. But having been a fencer, once she got her hands on a object close enough to a rapier, she was good to go. (Though she looks dim, she's more astute than most give her credit for. But in order to keep what semblance of peace their group is able to achieve, she continues to play the fool.)

_**Nationality:**_ Japanese

_**Family:**_

Tsubaki Ishida - Mother (47, f, unknown)

Akito Ishida - Father (42, m, unknown)

Koichi Ishida - Brother (19, m, unknown)

_**Background:**_ Sora grew up in a very normal family. Her mother was a housewife, her father was a history professor (who taught her and her brother fencing on weekends), and her brother was your average school student. There were no great tragedies in her life. No acts of heroism, no military training that could've prepared her for the apocalypse, nothing. She was just an average girl leading an average life.

_**Description –**_

_**Hair:**_ Short, ending at about the nape of her neck, and black. Usually soft to the touch, but despite it's length, it's a pain in the ass to brush out. Gets very curly after it's been washed.

_**Eyes:**_ Hazel, almost gold-ish.

_**Height:**_ 5'7"

_**Clothing:**_ A white button-up short-sleeved shirt, a large red jumper (or sweater i guess. same thing different name), a black skirt, a pair of grey tights, and a pair of bright teal sneakers.

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ No tattoos, has freckles around her nose and cheeks, and only has her ears pierced (though she doesn't normally wear earrings).

_**Misc details:**_ Sora has a slight overbite, and her eyebrows are a little large for a girl (she doesn't think that the pain of waxing or plucking them is worth it).

_**Weapons –**_

_**Main:**_ A saber from her house. Simple in design, but sturdy and balanced. Despite trying to defend it from the flak it gets for being impractical, should she come across a European longsword, she could be persuaded.

_**Secondary:**_ A Beretta 92FS 9mm semi-automatic pistol. However, she's not very good with firearms, so she prefers to stick to her saber when possible.

_**Strengths:**_ Can fence (and therefor knows how to handle a sword), somewhat flexible, light on her feet, thinks as fast as she moves, and is a fairly good judge of character.

_**Weaknesses:**_ Defenseless without a weapon, not really good at hand-to-hand combat, has a little too much confidence in herself, will never leave a dog to fend for itself against Them, talks way too much, and knows jack shit about first-aid.

_**Fears:**_ Silence, being caught without a weapon, watching a poor defenseless dog being killed by one of Them, and loosing her family.

_**Likes:**_ Fencing, gymnastics, dogs, lukewarm coffee, rain, noisy people, the few times she's able to sleep in, keeping the peace, and chatting with her brother (although it's more like she's talking at him than with him).

_**Dislikes:**_ Them, silence, people who are too dim to see what's clearly in front of them, food that's really spicy or really bitter, spiders, and people touching her without her permission.

_**Sexuality:**_ Heterosexual

_**What kind of person do they like (what kind would they be paired with):**_ Mmm...just...someone who isn't really tightly-wound, I guess? She's a pretty laid-back girl, so I can't see her being with someone who's all serious all the time. But I won't be against it if you think she would go well with someone like that.

_**Misc:**_ When she gets nervous, she tends to touch her hair, face, or clothes.

...

_**Name:**_ Wendy Matoke

_**Nickname:**_ N/A

_**Age:**_ 12

_**Gender:**_ F

_**Personality:**_ Wendy has a very shy and polite personality. She is very eager to try and make friends. Wendy also cares greatly for her Friends. She has low self-eestem Wendy is becoming more confident and brave as time goes on, and she always tries to be of help wherever she can. She is very easy to hurt, emotionally and is intelligent and has a very honest personality, is "direct and open with her emotions", and is easily swayed by the people around her. However, this also causes her to be "very romantic". She can be spontaneous and "very ditzy".

_**Nationality:**_ Japanese/white

_**Family:**_

Watanbe Matoke: Dad: Dead

Layla Matoke: Mom: Dead

Kozan Matoke: Big Brother 17: Infected

_**Background:**_ Her mother Died while giving birth to her. Her father was always on trips and when he came back he was always irritated and mean. Wendy would try to talk to him but he would always yell at her. Her big brother, Kozan, was very protective and kind over her and would yell at her dad which would make them break into a fight. Wendy would wished to be a nurse and would heal animals and sometimes kids who were injured. On Z-day, Kozan pulled her out of school after escaping his and tried to get her to any safety he can. Little did Wendy know that Kozan was already bitten.

_**Description -**_ she is very small and petite.

_**Hair:**_ She has Blood red hair that is up to her waist.

_**Eyes:**_ she has big innocent brown eyes that have that "kicked puppy dog" look.

_**Height:**_ 4'10

_**Clothing:**_ She wears a middle school uniform, witch consists of a black jacket with the school's symbol on the right corner, a small white button up shirt, a dark black skirt that is a little over her knees, and dark brown dress shoes. with white over the knee socks.

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ She has a scar on her finger from cutting herself while trying to cut a long bandage.

_**Weapons -**_ She doesn't fight...

_**Main:**_ Bandages, healing ointment, seeing what is wrong with someone.

_**Strengths:**_ Her healing skills, Her gentleness, Her intellect, and Her open mind.

_**Weaknesses:**_ Her innocence, Her low self eestem, Her honesty, She gets horrible motion sickness in any kind of vehicle

_**Fears:**_ She gets incredibly scared when people yell, or attack someone.

_**Likes:**_ Meeting people, Exploring, Cookies, Making people feel better.

_**Dislikes:**_ Mean people, when people yell, Milk, being alone, Silence.

_**Sexuality:**_ Straight

_**What kind of person do they like (what kind would they be paired with):**_ she isn't intending on making love right now ;D

_**Misc:**_ She is nice to people even if they are mean to her.

...

_**Name:**_ Roberto de Jesús McGrath

_**Nickname:**_ Arcángel/(Robert to his friends)(spark by his sister)

_**Age:**_ 18

_**Gender:**_ Male

_**Personality:**_ he is the type of person that just is full of secrets he is totally in his own world thanks to his passion for writting but once you get to open himself to you hes a great guy and a friend you can count on that will recive a bulet for you he is Also really good with children and Always is a shoulder you can cry on

_**Nationality:**_American

_**Family:**_ orphan after his parents murder. Lives with his aunt Gabriela and his little 5 year old sister Ana

_**Description:**_

Hair: he has black hair. On the left side some of it painted electric blue (thats why his sister calls him spark)

_**Eyes:**_ originally Brown, he uses a red blood contact lens on his left eye and a ocean blue on the right

_**Height:**_ 1.89

_**Clothing:**_ leather black jacket with wings on th back that belong to his father, blue T-shirt, dark jeans, leather finger-less gloves, black running shoes and square glases

_**Marking/Tattoos/Piercing:**_some cuts bellow the wrist. He Says it was an accident ( but we all know the truth )

_**Weapons:**_ Two Desert Eagles 50 cal. 2 butterfly knives ( he Always plays with). Katana with engravation Alicia in it

_**Main:**_ Dual Desert Eagles

_**Secondary:**_ Katana

_**Strengths:**_ he is fast and quite, when he opens himself is a great friend, he can clean a good terrain of enemys with a good plan, Always follows orders

_**Weaknesses:**_ the pain in his hearts makes him deal with the question of why to keep living, when hes angry he Well attack everything in his path (even people that keeps messing with him or his friends)

_**Fears:**_ losing his sister and his friends and being alone again, but what he fears the most is having to hurt his friends

_**Likes:**_ hes Not afraid of spiders or those kind of things, he likes spiders, thunders, Rain, cats, people that arent douches to him, the Dark and blades

_**Dislikes:**_ dogs, douchebags, blood and seeing others in pain

_**Sexuality:**_ Straight

_**What kind of Person they like:**_ someone that can show him the good that is to be alive and dont care about the things they do or like and can talk about his feelings with and is Always there for him

_**Misc:**_he is Not afraid of things that normaly would scared people off he actually likes to study them and keep them as pets

...

_**Name:**_ Izanami 'Iza' Niwachita

_**Nickname:**_ Iza, Nini, Nami

_**Age:**_ 16

_**Gender: **_Female

_**Personality:**_ Izanami is a very happy go lucky, and (surprisingly) very outgoing. Her appearance may look shy, but she loves talking. She's polite and rarely repeats herself. She actually gets annoyed when she has to repeat herself.

_**Nationality:**_ Japanese

_**Family- **_

Ruri-Mother/Deceased

Genta-Father/Deceased

Brooke-Older Sister/Alive-Location-America

_**Background:**_ Izanami was born into family with enough money to make a living. They weren't rich, but they were happy. When she was ten and Brooke was 13, there was a robbery and her mother and father were killed. They refused to go to a Orphange and ran away from there home. When Brooke turned 18, she went to America to go to college, leaving 15 year old Iza to live alone.

_**Description –**_

_**Hair:**_ Long, Snow White hair that curves into light waves near the ends with bangs that sweep over her forhead to the left.

_**Eyes:**_ Deep Sky Blue eyes with pretty eyelashes.

_**Height:**_ 5'4

_**Clothing:**_ Jean shorts that cover half her thighs, with a saturated purple tank top and the same colored purple shoes.

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ She doesn't have any.

_**Weapons –**_

_**Main:**_ twin pistols

_**Secondary:**_ Her samrai sword

_**Strengths:**_ She can be very quiet when she has to be and she can fit into small places. She gets along well with others, as long as there not rude to her for no good reason.

_**Weaknesses:**_ She doesn't care what situation she's in, if she sees a cat, she'll start running after it. She's terrible with directions, and she finds herself in the weirdest of places sometimes.

_**Fears:**_ She's afraid of spiders, that is one thig she will never tell anyone. She hates the dark, and will cling to the nearest person if it is dark. She's afraid of thugs on the street, for she is very 'cute' as people like to call her, and there always hitting on her and trying to force her to do things she doesn't want toot do.

_**Likes:**_ Purple things, Nice people, The sun, Rain, Cats, Food, and Jems.

_**Dislikes:**_ The Dark, Scary men, Dogs, Wild things, and Spiders.

_**Sexuality:**_ Straight

_**What kind of person do they like:**_ She likes boys that aren't afraid to stick up for themselves, and talk about there feelings from time to time. She LOVES cute boys and sometimes calls them Kitten, just because she thinks cats are adorable and that any cute boy she sees is as adorable as one. She loaths boys who try to show off, and likes guys that know how to have fun!

_**Misc:**_ Iza hates anything pink and won't do anything you tell her to unless you say please. She just likes messing with people like that.

...

_**Name:**_ Freddy Cuellar

_**Nickname:**_ Wolf (native american name)

_**Age:**_ 14

_**Gender:**_ Male

_**Personality:**_ Freddy is all-around good guy, he is a dyed-in-the-wool optimist who doesn't dwell on petty matter he doesn't mind fighting he sometimes makes jokes on situation to keep hishers spirits up, also he can be serious when he wants he is also a bit of a flirt with the ladies.

_**Nationality:**_ American

_**Family:**_ His Father Jose(43) ,his younger brother Ernesto(13) and his mother Eileen(41) and dog Rambo and hen Crystal are still in America and alive

_**Background:**_ He grew up in California he's father was tough on him of most of his life and learn a lot when he was a kid he had trouble with school, gangs and grades, he loved his family his dream was to be a green beret he later wanted to go to Japan because he want to see something different.

_**Description -**_His ethnicity is Spaniard with a little bit of Native American he has mostly a Spanish look to him he's skin complexion has a somewhat of a little bit of tan but mostly white

and he's athletic build he's weight is 115.

_**Hair Description:–**_Medium length brown hair (hair is like Kevin Ryman's in resident evil)

_**Eyes:**_ Brown

_**Height:**_ He's height is normal size maybe a few inches taller.

_**Clothes-**_

_**First: –**_ Some what military look but also civilian to it he wears A army green military jacket ( but a little bit more darker green), a white under shirt and a pair of jeans, he either wears black biker boots or converse black shoes

_**Second:**_ Mite give his jacket to a girl he likes ( like if their cold) but all and all not much change. _**Sleeping clothes:**_ Just normal gray pajama pants and no shirt

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ None

_**Weapons -**_ M1911 pistol , a combat knife,M4 carbine,Bren Ten pistol(sometimes duel wields the pistols) and sawed off shotgun (and maybe a molotov cocktails or 3 grenades)finds all these weapons later on and carries them in a bag

_**Main:**_ M1911 pistol ( gotten it from a friend a old man he dies and gives it to him)

_**Secondary:**_ The Bren Ten pistol and a combat knife ( passed the knife from air port security)

_**Strengths:**_His strength,speed, endurance he is good at planing stuff,he's a good liar and good judge of character and is able street fighter also he got a very accurate gut feeling and not that bad with guns also his will to survive.

_**Weaknesses:**_Sometimes when a girl seduce him, taking care a girl he likes and sometimes rare occasions perverted stuff with a girl stuff and he doesn't really know Japanese

_**Fears:**_ Actually doesn't have a fear as far as he knows of but knows he just have to be careful but is afraid if someone he loves or likes is in danger and not seeing his family again

_**Likes**_:Girls, flirting with women,Dogs/Wolves,exploring/ fighting, wrestling and hanging out,and his family

_**Dislikes:**_ Fighting without reason Bullies, Assholes and who people complain to much and think negative,people who act like they are helpless when they are not or people that would try to hurt/take advantage of a girl he likes

_**Sexuality:**_ Straight

_**What kind of person do they like (what kind would they be paired with):**_ A girl around his age who isn't older then him and would like him and both enjoy each other's company and both enjoy stuff together

_**Misc:**_ He knows how to cook a little bit, His religion Catholic and Christian and a little bit of Native, his theme song is Three Days Grace; Time Of Dying and other theme is SH:BOM OST #25 - Now We're Free he likes teaching people some things and teach them about life and his dream is to become a green beret

...

_**Name:**_ Alexander Takahashi

_**Nickname:**_Alec

_**Age:**_17

_**Gender:**_ male

_**Personality:**_ He loves to joke around, and appears really laid back at all times. He always has a plan for his survival even if he doesn't let anyone in on it, and because of his past he is merciless to his enemies alive or undead. He becomes cold and focused in combat, and while fighting enjoys it greatly, but never admits to this except in a joking way.

_**Nationality:**_Japanese-american

_**Family:**_ Sara Takahashi- deceased, Kenji Takahashi- deceased, (Brother) John Takahashi- deceased

_**Background:**_ When Alec was 8, his parents were killed in a car accident so he moved in with his older brother. Even before that Alec was bullied at school, so he learned self-defense at an early age, and he learns how to take care of himself( cooking,cleaning the house, etc) because his older brother is a drunk. A year before z-day, John dies while drunk driving so Alec has been living alone for the past year. In grade school he was considered extremely gifted in academics, but in high school his grades slipped because of lack of motivation; Alec became known as 'dangerous' by his peers and teachers because of his affiliation with some gangs, but he never actually joins one.

_**Description –**_

_**Hair:**_ Alec has medium-length, spiky black hair that covers his right eye most of the time.

_**Eyes:**_ purple

_**Height:**_6'0

_**Clothing:**_He wears a black jacket with white lining, a torn up white muscle shirt and black cargo pants.

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ He has three rings in his left ear.

_**Weapons – **_

_**School:**_ Skipping class but he has his brothers old switchblade, and he can take a gun from a security guard.

_**Main:**_ AKM with a silencer

_**Secondary:**_ dual desert eagles and a tantõ sword

_**Strengths:**_ planning for his own survival, long range combat, hand-to-hand-combat, short range combat, self sufficient

_**Weaknesses:**_ not good at trusting people, making close friends, and likes to piss people off.

_**Fears:**_that people that are close to him will die like his family

_**Likes:**_meat, soda, sleeping, fighting, joking around, girls

_**Dislikes:**_ milk, vegetables, people that annoy him

_**Sexuality:**_ straight

_**What kind of person do they like (what kind would they be paired with):**_ A girl that can joke around with him, and can hold her own in a fight.

_**Misc:**_ has a scar on his right cheek, and he likes to have a cigarette in his mouth, but he doesn't smoke. He does drink though.

...

_**Name:**_ Jun Naru

_**Nickname:**_ N/A

_**Age:**_ 17

_**Gender:**_ Male

_**Personality:**_ He is very silent and calm even in the most dangerous times. He rarely speaks and is very afraid of girls. He is blind and acts like he is blind (not like he knows where to go, he needs someone to help him walk around). He loves to cook if he can find a stove. He cooks all the time and carries around a mini Bar-B-Q set everywhere he goes. He has great hearing, taste, touch, and smell as a result of his blindness. He is a kind person if he talks to you.

_**Nationality:**_ Japanese

_**Family:**_ Dad, he doesn't know him; Aoi Naru, 45; living

_**Background:**_ He was born blind. He was raised by his mother and he learned how to cook when he was 5. He doesn't like girls because he is scared of their boobs. Nothing sad.

_**Description –**_

_**Hair:**_ He has short straight black hair.

_**Eyes:**_ A really light gray eyes (blind).

_**Height:**_ 5'7

_**Clothing:**_ A chef outfit without the hat

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ None

_**Weapons –**_

_**Main:**_ Cleaver (note: he doesn't use it much cause he can't see)

_**Secondary:**_ Another cleaver :D

_**Strengths:**_ His other senses.

_**Weaknesses:**_ Blind, weak, and slow

_**Fears:**_ Girls, and food he didn't cook

_**Likes:**_ Cooking, pancakes, and all other foods

_**Dislikes:**_ Girls who try to talk to him.

_**Sexuality:**_ Confused

_**What kind of person do they like:**_ He doesn't know.

_**Misc:**_ N/A

...

_**Name:**_ Katherine Harper

_**Nickname:**_ Kit

_**Age:**_ 14

_**Gender:**_ Female

_**Personality:**_ Kit is an outspoken, witty girl who has a knack for adventure. She knows next to nothing about the real world since she has lived in confinement her whole life. She always tries her best in everything that she does.

_**Nationality:**_ French

_**Family:**_ Her mother (Victoria, 49), father (Henry, 53), and little brother (Jack, 12) all died in a house fire and now Kit lives with her aunt (Macey, 44).

_**Background:**_ Kit was born and spent most of her life in Paris, France with her family. She comes from a very old family with many ties to the government. Since Kit will become the next head of the family, her parents hid her from the world. They taught her everything that they thought she should know in life and never let her leave the estate. She's never had any friends other than her brother and lacks common knowledge of how to do simple things. When Kit was 13, her entire family died in a house fire. She was sent to live with her aunt in Japan and has been there ever since.

_**Description –**_

_**Hair:**_ straight, layered white hair that reaches her mid-back

_**Eyes:**_ blue

_**Height:**_ 5'2

_**Clothing:**_ white mid-thigh sundress, cream colored fedora, cream colored boots, white stockings, sapphire pendant necklace, sapphire and diamond bracelet

_**Markings/Tattoos/Piercings:**_ both ears are pierced at the lobe with diamond earrings

_**Weapons –**_

_**Main:**_ Two 9in combat knives that are hidden in Kit's boots.

_**Secondary:**_ A a Pardini PC/GT45-5 fitted with a C-More sight and a suppressor hidden in a thigh strap underneath her sundress. She got it from her aunt for protection when she first came to Japan.

_**Strengths:**_ flexible and agile, has great accuracy when shooting guns, decent in hand-to-hand combat

_**Weaknesses:**_ can't cook, doesn't know much about the world and others, not that fast when running, has bad balance

_**Fears:**_ Kit is scared of heights.

_**Likes:**_ exploring, learning about the world

_**Dislikes:**_ people who treat her like an alien because of her lack of knowledge of the most common of things

_**Sexuality:**_ straight

_**What kind of person do they like (what kind would they be paired with):**_ a boy her age who can protect her and will teach her about the world

_**Misc:**_ Kit will always try her best when learning how to do new things (i.e. learning to use chopsticks)

...

**So, yeah... Characters.**


	2. Intro 1: Blood Is The New Black

Aria and Yomi hurried home without a word, casting glances at the streets around them. The sky was darkening and droplets of rain were starting to hit the ground, proving Aria right about Yomi's assumption of the day. Every time that girl said it would be beautiful – _every time!_

It wasn't long before the girls arrived at the house that belonged to the Suzumiyas. Shuddering from the sudden cold, Aria walked in. Yomi went to follow her, but the Japanese girl froze and looked to her left.

"Someone's out there," she said. "Excuse me, sir, do you need help? It's going to rain in a bit."

Aria rolled her eyes. Now it _wasn't_ going to rain. Damn Yomi and her opposite-weather powers...

The man walked closer to them and Yomi continued to try and get his attention. He didn't respond to anything she said and continued walking toward them, limping slightly. "Sir?" Yomi asked. "Do you need help at all?"

Without warning, the man shot out and grabbed tightly onto Yomi. Aria jumped away from the door and called out for her, earning curious questions from Daisuke and Junko, who were apparently in the living room. The man opened his mouth wide and tried to force Yomi to the ground. Aria subconsciously reached for one of her belt loops and pulled out one of the old daggers she'd brought with her to Japan. Just as the man sank his teeth into Yomi's shoulder with a sickening crunch, Aria rushed at him and stabbed the dagger into his head, instantly killing him. The man fell to the ground, motionless, and Aria led the traumatised Yomi inside.

"Yomi!" Junko panicked. "Yomi, baby, are you okay?"

Daisuke stood beside his wife as he watched both of the girls, mixed emotions in his face. Every time he looked to Yomi, there was worry and panic. But every time he looked at Aria – confusion and fear.

Yomi wiped away some tears that were trickling down her face. "He didn't bite deep, I don't think," she squeaked. "Should we call an ambulance?"

Daisuke nodded firmly. "For all we know, that man could've been rabid," he muttered. Aria raised a confused eyebrow. She was pretty sure that rabies couldn't be passed from person to person – just animal to animal or animal to person. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry...

"Should I go get the bandages?" Aria asked the parents. Junko nodded frantically as she cuddled her daughter tightly, beginning to cry along with Yomi. Aria, while feeling awkward about the situation, left the room immediately and made her way to the kitchen, pulling the medicine box from the top of the fridge.

"Yomi?" she heard Junko say. "Yomi! Dai, something's wrong with her!"

"Yomi!" Daisuke said. "Yomi, wake up!"

Aria hurried out of the kitchen and joined them again, witnessing something odd. Yomi was out cold, eyes closed and breathing halted. Taking another step toward them, Aria held out the medicine box.

"She could've passed out," she suggested. "From the shock of it, I mean."

Daisuke and Junko didn't listen, only focussing on their daughter. The teenager's eyes fluttered open, and then she coughed up a spray of blood as she sat up. The blood sprayed all over her mother's clothing and part of her face, but both of the parents were smiling.

"Baby!" Junko celebrated. She hugged her daughter once again. Yomi wheezed out a weak breath and stared blankly at Aria and Daisuke, and then she opened her mouth wide, clamping her teeth down on her mother's neck. Junko screamed in pain, causing Daisuke to snap and run out of the house, laughing hysterically. Aria just stood there and watched, horrified by the sight before her. Daughter devouring mother, watching her the whole time. Aria tried to move away, but Junko grabbed her ankle in an attempt to get her to help. Aria kicked the hand away, too scared to see if Junko would do the same as Yomi if she survived the bite.

Dropping the medicine box, Aria made a dash for her room. She closed the door and locked it, making sure no one had followed her up the stairs. Satisfied, but still shaken by Junko's now loud screams, Aria made her way to her bed, pulling the suitcase out from under it. She unzipped it quietly and pulled out the first thing that would make her feel safer – the old sword that had been in her family for generations, apparently originating from China. It wasn't hard to believe, what with the style and sturdiness of the sword.

Tucking a bit of orange hair behind her ear, Aria reached into her bag and grabbed another dagger, tucking it into the same spot that the last one had been in. She then tied the rope of the sword's sheath around a belt loop and made her way for her wardrobe, gulping. There were worse things to worry about now than small spaces, it seemed.

Hearing something banging on the door, she opened the wardrobe and climbed in, crouching down as she closed the door. The darkness was much to take in, but at least it stopped her from seeing how small the space was. She could still feel it, though – still feel the horrible, stressful, air-depriving, small space she was in. But at least she could get out this time.

Some time passed before Aria heard the door crash open. She held her breath as she heard the heavy, limped footsteps enter the room. They came closer and closer to the wardrobe, continuing toward her. There was a thud against the door, and Aria flinched. It was the boot of the car all over again. _Thud, thud, thud. Help, help, help._

Aria squeezed her eyes shut and cradled her head in her hands, fighting back a whimper. She would not let them know she was in there. She would not let them find her so easily.

More footsteps entered the room, followed by someone clearing their throat. The thuds stopped and a loud wheezing came from whoever was at the door. Aria opened her eyes and lifted her head slightly. The slice of metal meeting skin filled the room, followed by a body being rammed into the doors of the wardrobe. Aria cringed as a sword's blade went through the door, right in front of her face, and felt like gagging when she saw blood dripping off the tip.

_Oh joy_, she thought. _More reasons to add onto my claustrophobia._

The sword withdrew and a body slid down in front of the door. Footsteps went back to the door, followed by what sounded like a sword being sheathed.

"You can come out," a male voice said. Aria jumped slightly, gripping her sword tightly. She pushed open the wardrobe door and stood, ready to fight. The sight of Yomi and Junko, lying dead on the floor, caught her off guard.

The guy moved toward Aria, cautious and curious. "You weren't bitten, were you?" he asked.

Aria glanced up at him, shaking her head. His purple eyes watched her, caution gone entirely but the curiosity still remaining.

"I'm Alec," he said, holding out a hand. "Alec Takahashi."

Aria took his hand and shook it, unsure of whether or not to trust him. "I'm Aria. Aria Lambert," she replied. "Got a full name or were your parents lazy enough to just call you Alec?"

He didn't seem intimidated by her tone. "Full name's Alexander," he said. Aria nodded.

"I think Alec's better," she noted. He nodded and glanced at the sword in Aria's hand. He didn't say a word – just like Aria would've preferred – and then turned around, waving.

"I guess I'll see you 'round, Aria," he said, leaving the room. A breath caught in Aria's throat. He was _leaving_ her? _Why?_ Not that she liked the fact that she owed someone her life, but she couldn't survive this! Not on her own!

_Yes, you can_, a little voice in the back of her head said. _Do you know what the perfect first step would be? Kill Alec and search his supplies. Step two would follow along the lines of running, yes?_

Aria felt herself pale. Sometimes she hated that little voice in her head. She hated it so much...

"Alec!" she called, moving out of the room. She made sure not to touch either of the bodies. "Wait!"

She caught him just as he was turning into the kitchen and knew she had a look on panic on her face as she balled her hands into fists at her sides. Alec turned around when she joined him, looking about ready to raid the fridge.

"Problem?" he asked, a lazy look replacing his curious one.

Aria almost felt like she was hyperventilating. "C-Can I come with you?" _No – kill him here and take his things; survive!_

Alec's lazy look disappeared. "Seriously?" he scoffed. She nodded nervously. "If you want to come, why do you look so scared?"

Swallowing a snap, she said, "I just climbed into a freaking wardrobe to hide from my friend and her mother. On top of that, your sword nearly went through my face." She let out a breath, her nervousness obviously gone. "And you have the nerve to ask what I'm so scared about?"

Alec's hand rubbed the back of his neck, his expression thoughtful, and he turned to the fridge, opening it quickly.

"A rational person would say, 'What if there are more people like that out there?' but you didn't. You didn't even mention it." He pulled out a bottle of water. "I'm guessing you're still recovering from being in a closed space, so I'm gonna go with claustrophobia." He glanced at her. "Yeah?"

Aria scowled. She didn't answer at a risk of losing her temper, and simply nodded when he raised an eyebrow in a demanding gesture.

"Fine," he sighed. "Come along, if you want. You'd better know how to use that thing."

He was pointing to the sword at her side as he took a sip of the water. Aria rested a hand on the hilt confidently, smiling now. "Not even five minutes and you've already underestimated me," she told him. He grinned and pulled out another water bottle, chucking it to her with his free hand.

* * *

Looking down at the scenes below, one word came to mind for Mei: _Damn_. All she'd been doing was sunbathing – which ended in her _sleeping_ – and now look what was happening! Chaos was right in front of her!

She stood up and frowned, glaring down at the street below, and then crept over to the edge of the roof. If this was happening outside the house, who knew what was going on _inside_ the house? She ran a hand through her short, fluffy hair, letting out an amazed breath. Everywhere, people were screaming, shoving, biting, groping, twitching, convulsing... The list could go on.

_Damn._ That was one word that cycled over and over in her head. _Damn, damn, damn!_

Gritting her teeth, she dared a peek down at one of the windows. The door – the front door – had been forced open, what with half of it off its hinges, and nothing else could be heard over other people screaming for help outside. Mei crouched down and hung her head over the edge, trying to peer into the window of the balcony. She stared at the glass, taking in the splatters of blood coating it and the people screaming for help on the other side.

One of the people not screaming walked to the window, ramming into it lightly. A small crack appeared, and then the person rammed again. The glass cracked further, and before long it broke apart, allowing the person access to the balcony. Mei quickly brought her head back up and scrambled back to where she had been lying, waiting for the guy to come after her. Was this going to be like that movie? What was it called, again? She knew the creatures she was thinking of were called Reavers, and that these things sure as hell reminded her of them.

She risked another peek and inched forward, just barely finding the shape of the person on the balcony. She gulped and inched back, unsure of what to do.

Something normal caught her eye – something acting more human than the guy on the balcony. She had long white hair, some of it sweeping to the left at the front, and it began to wave a bit at the ends. Mei couldn't see her face, not even when the girl looked up and lifted a finger to her lips, silencing her in one gesture. The girl unsheathed what looked like a samurai sword and entered the house quietly, and before long Mei could hear the sounds of bodies falling, all of them falling under her.

She leaned over to check to see if the guy was still there, but he was turning around, limping back into the room. Mei swallowed a lump in her throat, wondering what Sword Girl was going to do. Just as the guy went inside, he was suddenly thrown outside, followed by the snowy-haired girl slashing at his face with her sword. His face peeled and half of his inner-head was exposed as he fell back and over the balcony edge.

_Awesome._

The girl walked out onto the balcony and sheathed the sword, jumping up and attempting to climb up onto the roof. Mei immediately reached for her hands and pulled her up, finally getting a good look at the girl. She looked about sixteen – the same age as Mei – and was dressed in a saturated purple tank top and jean shorts, as well as shoes of the same colour of purple. Her hair was away from her eyes, which were a deep sky blue, framed by the lashes.

"Thanks for helping me up," she whispered with a smile. Mei blinked, then smiled back, suddenly tightly wrapping her arms around the girl.

"You are so cute!" she squealed. "Cute, cute, _cute_!"

The girl wasn't moving. "Okay..."

"I'm Mei," Mei introduced, still keeping a grip on the girl. "What's your name?"

"I-Izanami," she replied. "Feel free to call me Iza. Uh, can you please let go of me now?"

Mei let go of Iza, still amazed at how adorable she was.

"What now?" Iza asked her, seeming confused.

"Why are you asking me?" Mei demanded. "You're the one that killed all those freaks."

Iza sighed and looked down at the scene in front of them. It didn't seem to be getting any better down there.

"Why don't we just stay here until it dies down," she suggested, nodding toward the road. Mei couldn't agree more with her.

* * *

"Kozan," Wendy asked. "Where are we going?"

Her brother didn't reply straight away, a strained look on his face as he guided Wendy out of her school.

"Do you want me to treat the bite?" she asked him. Kozan pushed open the door that led to the front yard of the school. Why wasn't he answering her? He continued to guide her, more half-dragging, half-pushing as he walked out the gates and broke into a sprint. Wendy struggled to keep up with him, but still managed to run at his side.

"Wendy, you need to be very quiet," Kozan muttered. "Okay?"

Wendy nodded without a word and followed her brother, gasping at the sight before them. There was so much blood on the street and so many people were walking around aimlessly, moaning and wheezing as thought they were sick with something. For all Wendy knew, they _were_ sick with something.

They all had chunks of skin missing somewhere, the wounds barely bleeding anymore, and Wendy couldn't help but steal a glance at her brother. Did this mean he'd been bitten? No, he'd be like one of them if he had been. Maybe a dog attacked him or something.

Kozan started to lead Wendy toward an empty section of the street, ushering her toward a left turn. Once they reached it, they started to run once more. So many questions were attempting to burst out of her, but Wendy kept her mouth shut and concentrated on running, scared of what would happen if she suddenly asked something.

The continued on the path, now passing people that were like the ones from before as well as people being bitten by them.

"_HELP ME!_" a woman screamed desperately. "_FOR GOD'S SAKE, HELP!_"

Wendy went to stop and turn around, only to have Kozan's hand grab hers and drag her away. Why was he ignoring the woman? They could help her, couldn't they?

Kozan kept her leading her away from the crowds of cannibalistic people, dodging to the sides when one walked past them. He seemed to look a bit sicker.

They stopped running for a moment, sucking in deep breaths as they tried to figure out what to do, and then Kozan suddenly started running again. She has no idea where he was leading her, no matter how hard she thought about it. They passed a small pothole in the road, filled almost completely with thick red blood. The colour reminded her of the colour of her hair.

Two more stops and three crowds of dying people later, they arrived at a quiet street. Kozan was looking worse for wear, though. He slumped down onto his knees and began gasping for air, choking on each breath as though he were about to vomit. As though something was coming up, but not out.

"Kozan?" Wendy squeaked, kneeling by his side. Kozan pushed her away, something finally spilling out of his mouth. Blood.

"Run, Wendy," he rasped. "Get away from me."

"What?" Wendy was confused. Didn't he brother want her there, to help him? "Why?"

"One of 'em bit me," he said. "I'm–" He was cut off as he choked and coughed up a spray of blood, creating a messy line of red in front of him. "I'm changing."

Tears welled up in the twelve-year-old's eyes. She was going to lose her brother? Now, of all times? Wendy stood up, trying to peek at his face. He was getting paler, turning a sick grey colour. This was wrong – this wasn't supposed to happen to people!

The unexpected happened. Footsteps came from up the street, two sets, followed by two teenagers – a boy and a girl – turning the corner and facing them. They looked the same age as Kozan. One of them had a gun and a sword, the other just a sword.

The girl swore under her breath and attempted to run over, but the guy grabbed her arm and stopped her, staring at Kozan sternly.

"Kid," he ordered Wendy. "Get away from him."

Wendy shook her head furiously. "No!" she shouted. "I won't leave my big brother!"

Something flashed in the girl's light lilac eyes. Wendy didn't know what it was. Sympathy? Did she feel that she could relate to the child? Wendy thought it was absurd. The guy frowned and let go of the girl's arm.

"I'll take care of this," he said, almost grinning. It made Wendy shiver with fear. Was this boy even _human_?

The girl took a turn to grab his arm. "And let you take all the glory?" she scoffed. "Nah. I'll do it. I'm not really good with upset girls anyway. I assume you are?"

The guy frowned, frustrated. "_Fine_," he sighed. "Take the gun and do it."

She scoffed again. It was like they'd forgotten all about Wendy and were focusing on who got to kill Wendy's brother.

"I'll use my own stuff, _thank you_," she said, almost teasingly. At that, she reached behind her and pulled a dagger from under her shirt, the shiny metal blade reflecting the scene before them. The girl walked over effortlessly, taking her time, and stood before Kozan. Wendy went to charge at her, but the boy had appeared out of nowhere and scooped her up.

"Better not look, kid," he muttered, trying to hide her eyes. Wendy fought back and tried to see what the girl was doing. She already had the dagger pointed at Kozan's throat.

"Anything you want to say to your sister?" she asked. Kozan looked up, wheezing a breath and smiling, the blood around his jaw making him look like the Joker.

"Be good, Wendy," he wheezed. "Grow up strong. Don't get bitten. Live longer than I did."

Without warning, the girl's dagger was thrust into Kozan's temple, leaving him falling to the ground sideways with the hilt of the blade sticking out of his head. A scream, a cry, all noise to be made was caught in Wendy's throat. She stopped struggling against the boy and just stared at Kozan's motionless body. The girl knelt down and carefully pulled the knife out of Kozan's head, flicking the loose drips of blood onto the ground.

"Almost makes me wish I'd worn my black jacket," she muttered. She looked to the boy. "Hey, Alec, lend me a sleeve."

"Why?" Alec asked, sounding as though he didn't want to.

The girl rolled her eyes and walked over to him, snatching his wrist and wiping the two sides of the dagger onto his sleeve of his jacket, the blood barely visible among the black. Wendy watched the two of them carefully. It took Wendy a moment to realise that the two had almost the same eye colour. The boy was certainly taller than the girl. Were they...?

"Are you related?" she blurted out, unable to stop herself.

The girl froze just as she went to put her dagger back in its original place. Alec tried to hold back a laugh as he put Wendy down.

"I should bloody well hope not!" the girl growled. "Do I look half-Asian to you?"

"You look like a freakin' ice queen crossed with a hothead," Alec laughed. The girl stared at him, confused for a moment, and then picked at a lock of her orange hair. What an unusual colour...

"Well you look like you ate one of those static-electricity balls," she growled. Now it was Alec's turn to touch his hair. It was spiked, but not the way the girl had described it.

"At least I don't look like a carrot," he shot back, laughing again. The girl punched his shoulder, more in a playful gesture than a violent one.

Now Wendy was über-confused. Why were they making fun of each other's hair when the girl had just murdered a human being?

"Why are you doing this?" she squeaked. "Why are you acting so..._normal_?"

"Because blood is the new black," the girl replied cruelly. "You don't like it, just give up."

Wendy stared at her in shock, and it gradually turned into anger. And then sadness. Finally, a deep, depressing reality that she was never going to become used to. Wendy dropped to her knees, tears spilling over rapidly as she covered her face with her hands.

"And now you think we're monsters," the girl's voice continued. Alec sighed.

"At least we're more human than _them_," he muttered.

Wendy knew that much was true, at least. But she wasn't sure how long that would remain the truth.

* * *

Mei and Iza frowned at the sights before them, bored with watching everyone. While the option of continuously hugging Iza was still open, Mei doubted the girl would willingly agree to it. Or find it funny.

"I don't know about you," Iza said, "but I'm kinda bored."

"Who knew the end of humanity would suck so much?" Mei pondered. "Oh, and not with the whole end of humanity itself, just the time it takes for something worthwhile to happen."

"Mmm-hmm."

They continued to watch in a bored manner and eventually began to yawn, wishing something good would happen. It was like watching a movie that went for hours and you didn't think to buy popcorn or even a drink. Mei silently growled at herself. And, like watching movies in that situation, Mei had to sit through it and wait for it to end before getting something to eat.

Something told her that was going to take a while...

* * *

**Not all characters were introduced, but they will be later on. The reason for the very long wait for this first chapter was because I was spending a lot of time thinking about how this will go and have come up with a pretty good outcome... I think...**

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter and I hope I can get the next chapter done much quicker and make the rest of the introductions. Also, if I get any characters wrong, please tell me so I can fix it.**

**~Miki**


	3. Intro 2: Pimp Life!

**Second chapter (introduction chapter, actually) is here!**

**A quick message to VengefulBiscuit: I didn't mean to make Aria be a badass (she was being one? 0.o) I was trying to make her seem cold or at least a **_**little**_** bit twisted (if twisted people act like she did). I apologise if she seemed otherwise.**

**Anyhow, I present the next chapter ^^**

**~Miki**

* * *

Wendy gave in soon and decided to go with the two, knowing that she wouldn't make it on her own. She wasn't a fighter. These two obviously were. Alec and Aria – the gun boy and the sword girl, both with similar eyes and different ways of walking. Wendy wasn't sure if she liked either of them, but she knew that she wouldn't be running to Aria for help any time soon.

"Where to next?" Aria asked Alec, casually walking beside him with her hand on the hilt of her sword, looking lazy. Alec shrugged.

"Your call," he replied. He glanced down at Wendy, curious. "What do you wanna do, kid?"

Wendy was silent for a moment, not looking at either of them. Just as Aria was about to say something, Wendy suggested, "Look for some survivors."

Aria let out a thoughtful hum. "Good call," she mused. "Good ol' fashioned pillage and rape. I like it."

Alec suppressed a laugh, but it seemed to require more effort than he could muster. "I don't see any villages we can plunder, Captain," he said in a pirate voice. Wendy couldn't help it; she laughed a little.

"Then we will continue in a..." Aria was thoughtful as she glanced around. She was looking for a word, it seemed. She finally pointed ahead of them. "...that way direction."

"West," Wendy immediately corrected. The orange-haired girl chuckled, while Alec nodded in agreement.

Aria waved them off dismissively and walked ahead, hands behind her head. Would Wendy stand a chance, attempting to take the sword? Maybe, if she slid it out of the sheath and ran with just the sword itself. Then again, Aria used her dagger pretty quickly – who's to say she wouldn't move just as fast to keep her sword away from Wendy?

Alec whistled two notes, like Mr Fox from _Fantastic Mr Fox_ did. Wendy soon knew what he meant by it. They were approaching a large group of those people.

* * *

It was getting to a point where the two girls had to punch each other on the shoulder to keep each other awake, in case one fell off the roof as they fell asleep.

Of course, during this boredom, Iza noticed that Mei had a tendency to swear like a sailor.

"Come fucking on," Mei groaned. "All I see if 'them' – look to the right? Fucking 'them'. Look to the left? Fucking 'them' again. In the house? Good Lord, 'them' a-fucking-gain."

Iza figured the last one was a sarcastic sentence. But she wasn't entirely sure…

"I hate to say it, but we're–"

"Fucked?" Mei supplied. Iza gestured to her, the action saying "more or less". That simply caused Mei to grin. Any other word than the curse she'd supplied would've done fine, but no other word would sum it up as bluntly.

"I think I see some live ones," Mei muttered, raising her hand to her eyes and shading them, squinting her eyes to get a better view. "Bet you they die in five minutes of getting here."

"Mei!" Iza gasped. She paused. "Ten minutes. One has a gun."

Mei glared at the group approaching 'them'. "Whoop-di-fucking-doo for bed-head," she replied sarcastically. The two watched carefully as the three people neared 'them'.

* * *

Aria's hand landed on her sword nervously as they neared the crowd, heeding Alec's warning whistle. From what Alec had told them as they approached, all they had to do was keep quiet and not bump into any of the freaks.

Easier said than done for Carrot.

Avoiding them was one thing, but walking through a crowd of them? Nada. Aria wasn't having any of it. Then again, it wasn't like she had a choice. She joined Alec in order to stay alive, and she wasn't leaving the Takahashi boy's side any time soon.

She gulped as she started to thread her way through the crowd, Alec heading toward the other side with Wendy. Despite the fact that Alec had wanted to kill her brother first, the kid seemed to be keeping away from Aria more. Not that Aria didn't mind, but still.

Movement from a nearby house caught her eye, and she paused for a second, standing as still as a statue as she raised her head to see what it was. She stifled a gasp. Two teenagers – probably near her age, if not a year younger – were sitting on the roof of a building just a little ahead to her left, watching them eagerly. They looked like opposites of each other, from where she was seeing them. One with white hair, the other with black. One with short hair, the other with longer hair.

The thought 'opposites attract' came to mind, but maybe that only applied to personalities – not looks. For all Aria knew, these two were like personality twins. She could be wrong, but she may have been right.

The white-haired one that was more or less dressed in purple covered her mouth, looking slightly worried, and then pointed to Aria. No, pointed _behind_ Aria. The orange-haired girl slowly went to turn, only to have something bump her from behind. A chin landed on her shoulder as whoever was behind her tried to make her walk forward. Wheezing breaths were right at her ear, the closeness of the freak starting to push Aria over edge. No one was allowed to get this close to her – only Holly and–

Panicking, Aria reached behind her and pulled her dagger out silently, whipping her hand around and lodging the blade into their skull, a slight crack of pierced bone sounding in her ear. She slowly eased them down, trying not to make a sound, and exhaled shakily. She caught Alec out of the corner of her eye, watching her curiously. Wendy was behind him, sticking close to the buildings, where almost none of the freaks were.

She raised a trembling hand and gave him an 'okay' gesture, her fingers shaping an _O_. Alec hesitated, then nodded, and he continued through the crowd. Aria glance up at the two girls, finding one of the frowning while the other was smiling, relieved. Well, at least one was happy she didn't get eaten alive and turned into one of them. She could just imagine it:

"_One of us! One of us!"_

Aria shuddered. Whoever came up with zombies was a sad, sad person with too much time on his hands.

_I'm talkin' to you, almighty creator,_ she thought angrily. _You just _had_ to give us zombies. What, vampires and bloody Godzilla weren't enough? You wanted to take it one step further from werewolves? Not fair, man!_

_At least you can kill them, unlike with werewolves and vampires and Godzilla_, her little voice reminded her. It had a point there.

She crept along the crowd, sidestepping toward the house the two were seated at, and cast another glance at Alec. He was also heading in the house's direction, catching on to what Aria had seen. The three neared the house, Aria growing more uncomfortable with the crowd behind her, and Alec quickly drew his sword. Aria finally recognised it as a tantõ sword. If Aria remembered correctly, it was a Japanese sword from the feudal era, coming from the Heian period. Samurais used it, too. Personally, Aria preferred her jian – her Chinese dual edged sword.

Alec went in first, Wendy right behind him, and Aria followed, slowly drawing her sword. They climbed up the steps that led to the second floor, Alec acting fast at the sight of one of them inside the house, slicing at its head. They went down like a ton of bricks, and they advanced to the balcony. There, Alec backed up to the edge of the balcony and grinned at what was above him.

"Lo and behold, ladies," he said teasingly, keeping his voice low. "Your knight in shining armour has come to your rescue."

Aria raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "I don't see him anywhere," she said. Alec shot her a glare that said, "Quit it."

She shrugged with a grin and led Wendy over to Alec, looking up at the two on the roof and smirking. "This a private party?" she asked. "Because I _love_ being the party-crasher."

Alec nudged her shoulder with his elbow. "Don't forget me, Carrot-Top," he reminded her. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Static-Hair," she sighed. The two glanced at each other, a shared idea coming to both of them, and then they took hold of Wendy, lifting her up so that she could reach the roof. The black-haired girl glared at Wendy venomously as the pre-teen climbed up onto the roof.

Alec gestured to the roof, saying, "After you," with the look in his eyes. Aria shook her head. "After _you_," her refusal said. Alec's hand slammed onto his forehead in defeat as he jumped up and grabbed onto the roof, the two girls helping him up. Aria simply stared up at the roof, thoughtful. For those two girls to get up, one would've already been up there.

Curiously, she climbed onto the balcony (thankful that it was a cement edge) and kept as much balance as possible, creeping along the side. She spotted a quick way up – a drainage pipe on the side of the house, evidence of being used all over it. With a deadly grin, Aria jumped and climbed up, one hand around the pipe and the other grasping the roof. She pushed up with her right foot, the pipe groaning slightly, and before she knew it she was up on the roof with the others.

"That was fun," she muttered, still grinning. The black-haired girl rolled her eyes.

"You obviously have something wrong with your head," she growled. "Using that pipe is not fucking _fun_."

Aria had a look of mock-offense on her face. "To you, maybe, but I think it was fun!"

"Girls," Alec grumbled. "Do _not_ start this while I'm the only guy in the group."

Aria and the girl glared at him. He immediately raised his hands in surrender and glanced over at Wendy. She waved a hand, telling him not to worry, and then his attention was on the two opposite girls.

"Do we get the pleasure of knowing your names?" he said. The white-haired girl smiled, genuinely sweet.

"I'm Izanami, but you can call me Iza," she introduced. The other girl set her jaw, defiance in her eyes.

"Mei Todashi," she grumbled. "Don't get used to calling me anything."

"Good Lord," Aria marvelled. She inched closer to Mei, glaring at her eyes. "Another purple-eyed kid." She quickly pointed to Wendy. "Kiddo, I am _not_ related to this one, either."

"Neither am I," Alec pointed out.

Wendy rolled her big brown eyes, annoyed. Her companions grinned, amused with what they did. Iza cleared her throat, changing the subject almost immediately.

"Moving on," she told them. "Are you guys headed anywhere?"

Aria glanced down at the girl's hands, noticing the samurai sword dangerously close to one of them. She guessed it was Iza's good hand, the hand she did everything with. That also meant she didn't trust them.

_Cute_, her little voice scoffed. _Why not kill _this one_? _And _her friend? She only has a sword – something you can beat her at drawing – and her companion is unarmed. You don't owe them anything like you do Alec._

Aria cringed. "Shut up," she growled softly, the fierceness in her voice. Iza cocked her head to the side, confused.

"What's up?" Alec asked. "You okay?"

Aria blinked, glancing up at everyone. She smiled, hiding her eyes with her hair. "I'm good," she said, calm. "Are _you_ okay?"

She heard Mei scoff. "Schizo-fucking-phrenic," she spat quietly. Aria quickly looked up at her and glared, a frowning tugging her face. The group was in silence for a moment, and then Iza cleared her throat again.

"So, what're your names?" she asked the trio. Alec raised a hand slightly.

"Alec Takahashi," he replied. He gestured to Aria. "And the 'schizo-fucking-phrenic' is Aria Lambert. She's not from here, if you can't already tell."

"And I'm Wendy Matoke," Wendy joined. Mei sent another venomous glare at Wendy.

_The hell is her problem?_ Aria wondered.

Now it was Alec's turn to change the subject. "Well, since I already got saddled with a Carrot-Top and a twelve-year-old," he said, "I might as well offer you two the chance to join my 'clique'."

Aria gave him an amused look. "Seriously?" she said. "Your 'clique'?"

"Not good enough?" he mused. "What would you prefer? That I'm a pimp and you and Wendy are my ho–"

"_Not_ something for a little girl's ears," Iza interrupted. "And yes, I would like to join you three." Iza looked to Mei. "What about you?"

Mei groaned lightly. "_Fine_," she decided. "I don't want to leave someone as cute as you alone with _that_." She nodded to Aria on 'that'. "Just so long as you keep the jailbait and the schizo away from me."

"Deal!" Alec announced. "Pimp life it is!"

Both Aria and Mei punched his arms. Quite hard.

* * *

He exhaled slightly, unsure of what the group was planning. They had spotted another group, low on weapons – mainly firearms – and Hayate, the leader, apparently wanted to spring them.

"Hey," Sosuke muttered. "Pup."

Freddy shot an icy glare at the bald man, annoyed with that name. "It's Wolf," he corrected. "And what do you want?"

Shirō grinned at Freddy's expression and his tone, patting the fourteen-year-old on the shoulder. "We just wanna know if you're ready to use that thing," he said quietly. 'That thing' in question was the M1911 pistol that Freddy kept in his hand, ever since that old man had given it to him as per his dying wish. It was only a short while ago, but now it felt like decades.

"You bet I'm ready," he replied, a determined edge to his voice. Shirō simply grinned further and crept over to Hayate, whispering something to the redhead. Freddy couldn't understand most of it, but he was able to pick up a few words.

"_Ready..."_

"_Shoot..."_

"_Dump..."_

"_Bodies..."_

Freddy gulped slightly, running a hand through his brown hair as he tightened and loosened his grip on his pistol. No matter what he told himself, he couldn't shake the fact that what he was doing was _wrong_. Even if it meant he'd survive another day.

* * *

Alec let out a short yawn as they walked further down the street, Mei and Iza keeping an obvious distance. No words had been exchanged (Aria didn't want to add on to her current weird-factor) and no one seemed to want to do anything but walk.

Iza opened her mouth to say something, earning the attention of the entire group, and then she closed it again. It was probably for the better, too. No one wanted to beat up any zombies at the moment.

What sounded like a rock landing on the ground came from their left, causing the entire group to gasp slightly and turn to the source of the sound. Before much could happen, Alec suddenly let out a slight yelp and fell slowly to the ground, raising his hand to his neck as he did so. All eyes were on him as the girls watched him. Wendy rushed to his side and examined his neck as Alec's eyes slowly slid shut. Wendy let out a small squeak.

"Tranquiliser," she gasped. "Hide!"

That caused the group to panic somewhat, but before they could run Wendy fell on top of Alec, also unconscious.

Aria gritted her teeth, frustrated. "Iza," she ordered. "Grab Wendy and run. Mei, help me carry Alec."

"Magic word?" Iza reminded her. Now was _not_ the time to be saying 'please'.

"_Now!_"

Mei scoffed as she made her way to Alec while Iza hurriedly picked up Wendy and carried her in a piggyback position. Aria on his left and Mei on his right, the two girls lifted him off of the ground.

"Ah!" Mei suddenly yelped. Just like Alec and Wendy, she slowly collapsed to the ground. Aria groaned in annoyance. They were being picked off like flies.

_Run! Now! Leave them be! SURVIVE!_

"Shut. _Up_," she growled.

Iza hurried over to Aria, just as frustrated as she was, and the two girls glanced around frantically. Someone was hitting them with tranks, and their aim seemed pretty well-placed.

A jolt of pain surged through Aria's neck and she felt her body slowly go numb as Alec's arm fell from her grasp. Her eyes became droopy and her legs gave way beneath her. Before the darkness crept in, she caught sight of Iza, falling to the ground as she placed a hand on her throat.

* * *

Hayate scanned the five children lazily, watching their movements as they all slowly came to. First was the guy – of course it was him first; he was the one they tranked first. Following him was the orange-haired girl. Her awakening confused Hayate, as she was one of the last to be hit. Followed by the girl with the scar on her stomach and the girl that was tranked last, all he had to do was wait for the little one to wake up.

The one with the scar – he was pretty sure the orange-haired girl had called her 'Mei' – started fidgeting, trying to escape the rope. She was also making sounds that, if translated into words, would make a nun wail in horror. Silence was golden, but duct tape was silver.

Shirō and Sosuke entered, the pup following them and stopping next to Shirō, and then Hayate let out a breath.

"They're all awake," Hayate told them, "so what do we want to do with them next? Torture or frisk?"

Sosuke grinned. He had taken all the swords the group had – the jian that the carrot top had with her, the samurai sword that the white-haired girl kept in her hand, and even the tantõ that the guy had with him. After searching their pockets, they found two pistols with the girl that had the samurai sword and they – unintentionally – discovered an old blade on the carrot top, probably from ancient warring times. How someone like her snuck blades like those into the country, they didn't know.

"I'm fine with either," Sosuke chuckled. "So long as we get to choose who we frisk and or torture."

The carrot top made a noise that sounded like, "Pitiful."

Sosuke managed to figure out what her noise meant. He gave a death glare in response. The girl's eyes squinted slightly, probably because she was grinning under the tape.

The little one finally came to, panicking as soon as she realised she was tied and silenced. Once the girl had woken up, the group's appearances changed slightly. 'Mei' was no longer squirming and cursing through the duct tape, and was instead glaring worse than Sosuke had been; the guy looked vaguely relaxed, no longer scanning the room impatiently; the girl with the white hair – Hayate assumed she was 'Iza' – was sitting closer to the little one instead of watching 'Mei' cursing and squirming; and the carrot top just sat there, watching everyone instead of pissing off Sosuke.

"Why don't we just let them go?" Freddy reasoned. "Without their stuff, those things will kill them in a heartbeat."

Hayate chuckled slightly. "I'm not sure if you're being optimistic for us," he said, "or pessimistic for them."

At that, Freddy frowned and glanced down at the five, observing them. With a sigh, Hayate stood.

"For that, you can watch them while we check for anymore wandering survivors," he ordered the teen. Freddy's expression changed slightly, and then it was back to the frown.

"Understood," he sighed.

Hayate walked past him, patting his head hard, and he was soon followed by Shirō and Sosuke.

* * *

_Well, well, well. Look who should've listened._

_Shut the fuck up and be useful by helping me get out of here._

_Oh dear, Carrot. You're starting to sound a little like Mei._

Aria groaned and rolled her eyes, rolling onto her back. The guys that had hit them with tranquilisers and looted them just left the room, leaving the youngest one with them. Despite being with those fuck-knuckles, he didn't seem to enjoy holding people hostage before killing them and taking their stuff.

'_Fuck-knuckles.' That's a new one, Carrot._

She banged her head against the ground once, forcing her little voice to shut the hell up. That simply earned confused stares from her friends– _comrades_, actually. As far as Aria knew, they were only in it to survive. Well, she knew Mei was and possibly Wendy too.

The kid they'd left with them sat down where the (assumed) leader had been. There was a gun in his hand, one Aria couldn't name at first glance. It did look like one of those semi-automatics they showed in movies or something. Aria let out a sigh. She really had to stop looking up random crap on the Wikipedia.

Bored with her mind and with waiting for the fuck-knuckles (it was now their official name) to come and kill them, Aria began to hum. First it was just random tunes that no one would know, and then it shifted to a song Holly had once taken a liking to: Mama. She was pretty sure she was humming the Korean version, which was sung by EXO-K.

This simply earned more confused looks.

She stopped after the second chorus and let out another bored breath. Hearing a growl from the kid, she glanced at him. He was standing now, walking over to them. He reached Alec first and began to untie the rope around his wrists. Poor choice, it seemed.

The moment Alec's hand was free, it launched at the kid's face, landing right on the cheek and sending him back a few steps.

Well, at least the guy didn't untie Mei first.

He sat up and rubbed his cheek, frowning. "Okay, I get that I deserved to be sucker-punched in the face," he said, "but come on! You _had_ to do it while I was _helping_?"

Alec shrugged, grinning slightly. "Then make up for it by untying my friends." The kid stood, but Alec raised a warning hand. "_Don't_ untie Mei" – he nodded to her – "because she will most likely grab something and beat the shit out of you with it."

The guy gulped, but nodded anyway. He moved to Aria and began to untie the rope, earning a kick to the shin.

"Ow! The fuck?" he growled.

"Just be glad it was the _shin_," she said with a smirk, standing.

The rest of the group was untied and had the duct tape removed from their faces, and Alec quickly devised a plan for them to follow.

"Do we _have_ to?" Wendy said. "I don't think killing them would solve anything."

"It would keep them from coming after us and tranking us again," Aria pointed out. Mei nodded with a huff.

"The schizo's right," she said. "Let's put a cap in their asses."

"A cap in their arses?" Aria scoffed. "_Really_?"

"A cap in their arses?" Mei mimicked, even copying Aria's accent. Aria rolled her eyes and looked to Alec.

"You've got a good aim, right?" she asked. Alec shrugged lazily.

"You could say that," he said. "What about you?" he asked the kid – Freddy, he said his name was. "Got a good aim?"

"Not bad," he told him. "I could probably hit all three if I had good timing."

Alec nodded. "I say you go for the one with the tranquilisers," he said. "Which one's that?"

"Shirō," Freddy said. "He's fast."

Alec nodded again. "Go for him first," he told him. "Then the guy with our blades."

With a determined nod, Freddy tightened his hand on his gun and crept over to the door leading out. He creaked it open slightly, and then all Aria heard was two shots from his gun, followed by two screams of pain.

The group quickly ran out, Mei making a fast beeline for the leader and raising her fist with a battle cry. Aria paid no attention to how she beat the guy to a pulp, but focused on getting her sword back. She handed Iza her samurai sword while Alec picked up his tantõ sword. Smiling, Aria grabbed for her jian and her dagger, putting them both in their rightful places. Iza raided the other guy's stuff and found her pistols, putting them both in her pockets and smiling as though everything were fine.

Mei finally finished beating the guy as Alec picked up a gun just lying around on a table. It looked like it had some kind of silencer on the end of it.

"Huh," Alec laughed. "An AKM." He held on to the AKM as he glanced around for something else. He let out a triumphant laugh when he found what he was looking for. "And Desert Eagles!"

Aria stood and joined him. "What are you going on about?" she said.

Alec raised two identical guns, which Aria assumed were the Desert Eagles he was referring to. "I got me some new toys," he announced.

* * *

Walking as fast as he could through the street, Roberto hurried himself to get to the source of the gunshots. Two had been heard, according to Jun – probably a kilometre away – and now Roberto was determined to see if that meant more survivors.

It was sheer coincidence that Roberto found Jun in that restaurant. All he'd done was walk in, spot a few people with bites on their arms or legs, and when he went into the kitchen he was met by half-dead cannibals trying to eat him alive. After killing them with the kitchen supplies (hot water didn't seem to disturb them) he found Jun in the food supply, hiding with a cleaver in his hands and barely keeping eye contact with Roberto.

"How far have we gone?" Jun asked. He was holding on to Roberto's jacket, running behind him in case they were suddenly attacked.

"I'd say somewhere around fifteen metres," Roberto replied. "Just another nine hundred and eighty-five to go."

* * *

**Yay! I finished the second intro chapter! :D I wonder what will happen when Roberto and Jun meet Alec and his 'clique'? lol nah I don't think I should be calling it that.**


	4. Intro 3: Maybe I Won't Kill You

**Glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter – I just thought some funny-funnies would be good to kick-start the zombie-bashing**

* * *

"This place looks pretty well-kept," Iza said quietly. "We could hole up here for a while. I don't think any of 'them' could get in. _Easily_," she added after a second of thought.

Aria sighed to herself. No one seemed to be arguing with her.

Mei nodded firmly. "I agree with Iza," she told them. Her tone said something else, as well: "Disagree and you'll be sorry."

"It's true," Wendy added. "And while we wait, I can help with any injuries – I could even check to see if we've all fully recovered from the tranquilisers."

With a huff, Mei stalked over to a chair at the table, clear disgust on her face. "Stay the fuck away from me, shrimp," she growled, "and maybe I won't kill you."

Aria cast a look at Alec. It was one that asked if he was going to intervene, or if he was going to sit in the sidelines. Alec simply shrugged with a grin.

"I'm not the only guy anymore," he told her, "so bitch to your heart's content."

Displeased with how he had put it, she looked to the black-haired girl with a scowl. "What is your problem?" she demanded. "This kid – this brave kid who was randomly thrown into this mess like everyone else – is trying to help, and you're just pushing her away like she's a friggin'–" She growled at herself. "Name something you can't stand."

"_Kids_," Mei spat. "I de-fucking-spise _kids_, schizo!"

Aria threw her hands up in frustration and stalked over to one of the windows. It seemed that they were on the floor above the ground floor, which kind of explained the elevator at the end of the hall outside. Taking a peek outside, she assessed the building's surroundings – or at least the road outside and anything else visible.

The road was devoid of life and was filled with abandoned cars, random bits of rubbish from open cars flying about it the slight wind. Never in her life had Aria imagined being so _isolated_ from humans – from anything alive, actually. All she had for company now was the group behind her, and she wasn't sure she liked what she'd landed with: a girl with obvious anger issues that swore off her head every five minutes and hated kids; another girl that was just too optimistic about all this and always kept her hand by her sword as though she were ready to attack them at any given moment; a little girl that was going to be traumatised or insane by the time she died in this hellhole – or got killed by Mei, either of the deaths would have her insane and disturbed; then there was the fourteen-year-old that had helped kidnap them and then randomly decided to do a good deed and free them, as well as killed his own previous comrades in the process; and then there was Alec. If anything, he probably _enjoyed_ living this kind of life – the life that involved killing to survive and the life that involved the rule of do-or-die. He had also seemed to want to be the one to kill Wendy's older brother, too.

Then again, Aria was one to talk. Sure, she was at war with her mind, liked the idea of using her sword to cut shit that moves, and even had a history of talking to herself over stupid things. Everyone else was probably thinking the same thing she was: How the crap did they end up huddling together for their lives?

Freddy cleared his throat, walking over to Aria with Alec by his side. From how Freddy spoke at times, she could tell he still needed to brush up on his Japanese. It was a good thing at least one person in the group was fluent in both Japanese and English.

"'Sup?" she asked them both. Freddy was the one who answered, speaking English.

"There're other rooms we can use here," he explained. "I've never looked through any of them – not yet, at least – and I think there's a room with a working TV in it." He paused, considered his previous sentence. "The power wouldn't cut off yet, would it?"

Aria glanced at the lifeless street outside once more, then shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, shrugging with a nod. "Let's check it out, then," she replied.

Freddy nodded in response and walked over to the door leading out of the room, waiting for whoever was coming with him. Alec walked over, Aria speaking as she followed.

"Girls," she announced. "We're going to see what other rooms are here. And there's apparently a TV, so I think it might be best to look for any news programs."

"Whatever, schizo," Mei grumbled. "I'm staying put."

Wendy frowned. "I don't think I'll go, either," she told them. "I'd rather stay here."

Iza sighed, smiling slightly. "I guess I have to stay, in case Mei tries to kill Wendy."

Repressing a shudder, Aria wondered if Iza was psychic, what with her voicing what Aria had previously thought.

"Alrighty," Alec decided. "We three will go searching yonder for supplies and shit."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Searching yonder for supplies and shit," she repeated. "Do you always talk like this?"

"Depends." He grinned. "Do you always say 'shut up' at random points in your life for no apparent reason?"

Mumbling something along the lines of, "Touché," Aria nodded for Freddy to lead the way. The fourteen-year-old turned and left the room, leaving the two seventeen-year-olds to follow, and he led them to a door near the end of the hall outside. Next to the door was the stairs that led to the next floor, as well as a wall with a simple window on it.

Alec raised his AKM silently and held it just at shoulder level, preparing to shoot if something inhuman was in the room. Freddy reached for the knob, only to be stopped by Aria.

"If something's in there," she whispered, "you won't have enough time to shoot it. I'll go first – I can get out my dagger pretty quickly, if I have to."

He took a step back from the door as Aria took a step forward, one hand reaching behind her and one hand reaching for the doorknob. She wrapped her fingers around it and twisted, quickly flinging the door open and drawing her dagger. The three let out a breath. Nothing was inside.

Aria walked into the room eagerly, taking in what was there. All along the walls was bare, save for an air conditioner and a flat screen TV positioned perfectly on the far wall. There was a refrigerator – really, a mini-freezer – underneath a bench that had a sink and some mugs already on it, waiting to be washed. Alec opened the mini-freezer and let out a low whistle.

"Nice," he said, satisfied. Both Aria and Freddy looked over to where he was, curious as to what he was satisfied about. Alec, as if answering an unasked question, held out something that had been stored in the mini-freezer: a glass bottle filled with a clear brown liquid. Alcohol.

Aria let out a chuckle. "Dude, the drinking games we could play..." she said to herself.

Alec seemed to hear this and he was nodding in agreement. He placed the bottle back in the mini-freezer and stood, revealing at least seven more large bottles of the stuff before kicking the door shut with his foot. Aria moved on to a set of drawers, pulling open the first one. Inside was a change of clothes – mainly men's clothing and underwear for both men and women. After rifling around for anything that would fit them, she moved on to the next drawer, finding it full of electronics – mobile phones, iPods, TV remotes–

Without thinking, she grabbed for one of the remotes and clicked the power button, aiming it at the flat screen on the wall. Nothing happened. She picked up another one, repeating her actions, only succeeding in turning on the AC across the room. She frantically turned it off, earning confused looks from the boys. She picked up the third remote and closed her eyes, clicking the power button. The sound of a news anchor – Izanagi Ryugu – filled the room quietly.

"_If you are just joining us, there has been an outbreak of what officials are labelling as 'Murder Syndrome,'_" he reported. "_Symptoms of the Syndrome include biting people and passing out before suddenly attacking people nearby. Sufferers have been shown to have paled skin and trouble breathing, but that is all reports have noted._"

"Hey," Alec said quietly, walking over. "Turn it up."

Aria did so cautiously, turning it up only by a few bars.

"_So far the Murder Syndrome has spread over the majority of Japan's east and has already seeped into the south and north. No reports of the Syndrome have come from the west, but local paramedics say it is only a matter of time._"

At a loss for words, Aria's finger hovered over the channel seek button. She hesitated before glancing at Alec.

"What channel is the world news?" she asked, almost inaudible. Alec looked down at her, a question in his expression.

"What?" he asked. Aria frowned.

"World news," she repeated with force. "What _channel_? I _need_ to see what's happening in England!"

Alec took the remote from Aria and changed the channel, landing on the station that reported international issues. The 'Murder Syndrome' was all over this channel, too. It was currently a report about how much of Europe had been infected with it.

A woman with dark grey hair and glasses was sitting at the desk, a serious look on her face. "_Like the Black Death, the new Murder Syndrome has made its way quickly through Europe, already consuming France and Germany and slowly making its way through the UK._" Aria's eyes went wide and she stifled a gasp. That meant– "_Concerning countries such as Australia and New Zealand, we are unable to disclose the current situation. We can, however, confirm that the Murder Syndrome is indeed worldwide._"

Feeling her energy leave her, Aria sat down slowly onto the floor, swallowing a rising lump in her throat. Alec turned off the TV and the boys stood in silence. Freddy finally said something in Japanese.

"I'll go with the girls," he told Alec. Alec nodded and Freddy quickly left the room, saying nothing more as his footsteps told Aria he was out in the hall.

She heard Alec open the mini-freezer and pull out one of the bottles, and then she heard him grab two glasses from somewhere else. Finally, he sat himself down next to her and poured the liquor into the glasses.

"In times of horrible realisation," he told her, "it is best to drink something that numbs the pain."

He held out a glass for Aria to take. She took it. After sniffing the drink suspiciously, she swallowed it all in one gulp.

* * *

He placed a hand on the doorknob and twisted it carefully, silently opening the door. Jun's grip tightened on his jacket, but Roberto hardly noticed. He was too focused on getting inside the building without signalling his whereabouts to any of 'them' inside.

The door revealed a dark and empty room, as well as someone crouched in the corner, a sabre in their possession. Roberto took a step into the room, followed by an uncertain Jun, and he reached for his katana cautiously.

"Excuse me," he said. The person in the corner gasped and stood.

"People?" a girl's voice inquired.

"Uh... Yeah," Roberto replied. "Are you okay?"

She stepped out from the corner and ran over. A smile was on her face – a relieved one – and her hazel eyes regarded them happily.

"I'm fine," she told him. Roberto felt Jun's grip tighten on his jacket. "If you hadn't come when you did, I'd probably have gone mad from the silence. Well, aside from the gunshots above. Ooh, is that why you're here? Because you'd better have something to defend yourself with if you're going up."

Raising an eyebrow, Roberto said, "When did you get here?"

She sighed. "I was simply walking away from the chaos – and suffering through the silence – and then I heard a little girl yell out something about a tranquiliser." She shrugged, looking worried. "When I got there, I saw these men carrying some people our age and a little girl toward this building, so I hid on the first floor entrance and waited to ambush them." At that, she grinned. "I probably wouldn't have gotten far with that, though, huh?"

He shrugged and looked around. Cautiously, he took a step into the room. "Is there an elevator?" he asked. "I mean, you said this is the _first_ floor. That means there're others."

"Duh," she laughed. "Obviously." She pointed over to her right with her sabre. "Over there."

Roberto nodded and held out a hand. "I'm Roberto," he said. "What's your name?"

She grinned again, seeming more and more friendly with each passing second. "I'm Misora, but you can call me Sora," she replied. She took his hand and shook it, then looked to Jun. "What's your name?"

Jun took a slight step back and tried to pull Roberto with him, muttering, "Jun," under his breath.

Sora nodded. "Pleasure to meet you two," she said. "Now, are you sure you're going to be able to protect yourself while going up there?"

Roberto sighed and reached behind him, unsheathing his katana. Sora let out a breath.

"Then I'll come, too."

* * *

She was still glaring at the shrimp, displeased that they were in the same room. It was a relief that Iza had decided to stay, but it wasn't enough of a relief to ignore the fact that the kid was there, sitting by the window and watching the sky.

Iza glanced between Mei and Wendy, a pondering look on her face. Finally, she smiled and said, "Wendy, how long have you known Aria and Alec?"

Wendy didn't look away from the window. "As long as you two," she said simply. Mei scowled. The kid was hiding something.

"Bullshit," she growled. "You've known them longer."

"Technically," she began. Wendy seemed to think better of what she was about to say and went back to quietly gazing out the window.

"Technically _what_?" Mei pressed. She could see Wendy tightening her hands into fists. This was obviously bugging her.

"Technically," she started again, "I've known them since around this morning – when they–" She gulped. "When they killed my brother."

Iza frowned and look down while Mei simply smiled cruelly. If only this happened to all the little shits in the world. "You probably deserved it," she said. "Deserved to be left alone and with the pain of being with your brother's murderers."

Wendy turned to her, her face missing any kid of negative emotion. "I probably do," she agreed. "But Kozan didn't." She smiled suddenly, looking down at her hands. "But I forgive them – Aria and Alec. If they hadn't killed him, he would've turned into one of 'them' and I'd probably be one, too. I guess, in a way, they saved me from that fate."

Iza smiled and stood, making her way to Wendy. "A wonderful way to put it," she told her. Mei had to agree, it was a good way to put it. Then again, it was a bad way as well – they'd saved a little kid; one of the very things she couldn't stand to think of, let alone see.

"Mei," Wendy said. Mei's head shot up, wondering what the fuck the thing wanted. "I know you don't like me, but is it okay if I like you? I mean, you're pretty brave – you went after that guy, even when he had a gun, and you stuck with us up till now." Wendy chuckled to herself. "You can even put up with Aria."

Unsure of what to say, Mei simply pouted and looked away, choosing to ignore the kid rather than answer her. It was true, though – she was able to put up with the schizo.

The door opened and the American kid they'd 'recruited' (Alec's words, not hers) walked inside, frowning. He sat down on one of the chairs and sighed.

"It's worldwide," he told them. No one needed to be told what. It was that damn zombie disease.

A _ding_ came from outside the room, causing them all to freeze and glance at each other. Freddy sat up and reached for his gun while Iza drew her sword silently. Mei stood and clenched her fists, ready to beat the shit out of their intruder. Wendy simply got up and hid near the table, keeping a lookout on the door.

Three sets of footsteps followed, no other sound from the intruders. Freddy made his way to the door, gun ready as he turned out of the room and aimed it.

* * *

_Shit._

Slowly, Roberto and Sora raised their arms in surrender, clearly outgunned by the two guys in the hall. One of them – the older one with black hair and a cigarette in his mouth – grinned.

"Great minds think alike," he said to himself. The grin fell as his attention was turned back to the three in front of the elevator. "Who are you people?"

"My name is Roberto de Jesús McGrath," Roberto quickly said. "The girl is Misora and the boy is Jun. Tell me, did you fire a gun two times just before?"

The guy with the cigarette looked to the younger one. He frowned and looked back to Roberto. "Yes," he said reluctantly. "You heard?"

Roberto nodded, not saying a word, and then two more people burst out of the room behind the younger one.

"M-Mei!" one of them – a white-haired girl – was shouting. "Calm down!"

The other one – the black-haired one – didn't seem to want to do as her friend said. "Why the fuck aren't we hearing a fucking gunshot?" she demanded. Her gaze was turned to the older boy and she scowled. "And where the fuck did you find a fucking cancer stick?"

Another person, this time from the older one's door, walked out, a frustrated expression on her face. She let out a sigh when she caught sight of the scene before her.

"Guys, guys," she said, raising her voice slightly. "Put down the damn guns and let them in. There's always strength in numbers, right?"

"And just what the fuck were _you_ doing, Schizo?" the black-haired girl snarled. Schizo didn't seem fazed by her sentence. In fact, she seemed a little calm.

"_I_ was watching the news," she replied matter-of-factly. "And I learned that this is bigger than we thought."

The guy with the cigarette slowly lowered his guns, grinning again. "I hope you know that weakness also comes in numbers," he told her. She smiled slightly, amused.

"Oh, I know," she replied coolly. "Freddy, you too."

The younger one – Freddy – lowered his gun at last, glancing between them all. He seemed a little confused, to say the least.

"What now?"

Schizo walked forward and stood before them, her smile replaced by a serious face. "I'm Aria," she said. "You guys are Roberto, Misora and Jun – I heard. The one that keeps cursing is Mei, the one holding her back is Iza, and– Oh, where's Wendy?"

"I'm Alec, by the way," the cigarette guy cut in. "That's Freddy."

One more person joined them, and she looked to be around twelve or so. She must've been Wendy. "I'm right here," she announced, letting Aria know where she was.

Roberto stared at them, confusion creeping in fast, and blinked in the hopes it would clear his head. No such luck.

"Well then," Aria said, grinning cheekily. "Let's get you guys settled in."

* * *

The situation was making Aria's brain hurt. Or maybe it was the alcohol? She couldn't tell, but it was probably the situation – she only had one drink, and she seemed to be holding her liquor well. But she was once again led to question how the group had managed to come together. Now she was stuck with a guy that fit the description of tall, dark, and silent, a blind chef that came with the previous guy, and a chatterbox that had been apparently on the floor below while Aria and the gang were busy being held hostage.

God, no wonder her brain was hurting.

_Should've just killed them when you had the chance._

Shock replaced the confusion in her. That wasn't the little voice – that was her.

She shook her head, frustrated with herself. It could be a side-effect. Side-effect of what, though? It couldn't be from _that_ – it'd been two years since the immunisation. _And_ the effects would've been shown with her dad.

It wasn't a side-effect. She'd always been like this – especially when Holly was born. The point was that it was getting worse.

"Something on your mind?"

The speaker snapped her out of her unpleasant reverie. She turned her head toward them, meeting the curious eyes of Iza. The younger girl cocked her head to the side.

"You seem troubled."

Aria shrugged and half-shut her eyes, thoughts creeping back to her. The news had said it was worldwide. It had even said that the UK was slowly losing to the so-called 'Murder Syndrome'. They all knew it wasn't a syndrome, though – it was a disease.

"I'm just contemplating," Aria replied finally.

"Contemplating what?"

Aria let out a weak laugh. What, indeed. The fact that her country won't survive, more so her _family_? Or the fact that she was becoming, well, _not_ herself?

"Stuff."

* * *

Alec looked around the first floor lobby lazily, wondering how someone like Misora could've stayed down there during the approaching evening. The sun was already starting to set, and Alec could just make out a few stars in the sky, already coming out early. Which one was the bright one? Venus? Jupiter? Or was it Mars?

He let out a yawn and scratched the back of his neck, glancing around. The power hadn't been cut yet, but turning on the lights would be pretty bad. That would attract survivors, and some survivors with bites would come. If one got in, they'd all be doomed.

Maybe not Alec, though. He could hold his own. He wasn't sure about anyone else. Jun and Wendy would hold them back, being the youngest girl and the blind guy in the group. Neither had any weapons on them, either. If he knew anyone from observing them in one day, they'd try to help them. Alec, on the other hand, would try to help himself. The world was going to Hell, and there was never going to be any room for generosity or heroism. Just survival.

He paced through the lobby, passing the front desk curiously. He wondered if this was a hotel, but it seemed impossible – unless they were being held in some kind of storage room. Then again, wouldn't the storage room be on the ground level?

A loud ring made him jump, and he quickly whirled around to face the source. The ring came again, followed by a small, flashing red light. A phone!

He made a beeline for the desk, vaulting over it, and then he picked up the receiver quickly.

"Hello?" he said casually. The voice on the other end was panicked.

"_H-Hello? This is Macey Harper. Thank goodness someone picked up._"

"Um..." Alec stared at the phone, unsure of what to do. Play along, or say the place was abandoned of its workers? "Who?"

"_Macey Harper,_" the woman repeated, insistent. "_Please, you have to help me. Help _us_. We're stuck inside our house and those things don't know we're in here._"

"Ma'am," Alec sighed. "Our group is big enough as it is and I don't think–"

"_Please!_" Sobbing followed, as well as another voice. Probably that of a young girl. "_Help us._"

* * *

**And that leaves it open for one more introductory chapter. That means the next chapter involves zombie bashing ^^**

**As usual, if I got anything wrong, please let me know. And for those curious about what Aria's thinking about near the end...I'm not telling :D**

**~Miki**


	5. Intro 4: Z Day

**Aaaaaaaaaand finally I will introduce Kit :D Hope this comes out okay...**

* * *

"I'm about to put you on speaker-phone," Alec said into the receiver. Aria listened carefully to the voice on the other end. "Okay, ma'am. Alright. You can tell them that yourself."

Alec clicked a button on the phone and the voice of the woman came out from the small holes where the receiver was to be placed. "_H-Hello?_"

"Good evening," Aria greeted. "My name is Aria Lambert. Who, may I ask, is calling?"

"_Macey Harper_," the woman replied. "_Please, you have to help–_"

"Ms Harper," Aria interrupted. "Calm down. Just give us your address and directions to your house and we'll be on our way."

The entire group leaned forward to listen as Macey told them her address and the directions. Mei frowned when she finished.

"That's half-fucking-way across the town," she muttered. "Can we make it?"

Iza frowned while Roberto cut in, answering Mei's question. "Jun and I just came from that way," he said. "The house is near the restaurant I found Jun in."

"Then I guess we go that way," Sora finished. "But wouldn't there be too many of us going there at once?"

That was true – there was nine of them in the lobby, and having them all go at once was kind of dumb, to say the least.

"_E-Excuse me?_" another voice said. "_Are you coming to help us?_"

"And who is this?" Roberto asked. The voice cleared their throat.

"_I'm Katherine Harper, sir_," the voice replied. "_Are you going to help me and Aunt Macey?_ _Are we going to make it out?_"

Aria gritted her teeth, the girl's voice triggering her big-sisterly side. Damn it – first with Wendy's older brother, now with this Katherine kid. Why did she have to be born with siblings?

_Take it back_, she thought. _They could still be alive – like all of your friends are._

She still wondered if they could be called that. Were they all in it for survival, or were they joining together to be all buddy-buddy and crap?

_Nope._

"You'll make it out," Iza said firmly. "We'll get you and your aunt out, Katherine."

Katherine breathed out a silent, "_Thank you_," and hung up. The group looked to Iza – even Wendy looked to her.

Iza let out a frustrated breath. "What?" she demanded. "I can't feel sympathy and want to help her?"

Alec, Aria, Sora, and Mei all grinned. "We didn't say anything," Alec teased. "But that doesn't mean what you did was wrong." He cleared his throat, raising his hand slightly. "I volunteer to help get Katherine and Macey out of their home. I'll take two more with me while the rest hold the fort. And," he added as everyone went to raise their hand, "I will say who goes with me. Are we clear?"

"Yes," they replied in unison, their enthusiasm deflated slightly.

"Okay." Alec scanned the group, glaring as he did. Aria just wished he'd get a move on with it – the sun was going to set soon.

He suddenly pointed at Aria. "_You're_ coming with me," he ordered.

"D-_what_?" she gasped. "Why am I first choice?"

Alec stared at her like she was stupid. "Because I've known _you_ longest and you have fast reflexes. Not to mention I'm still waiting to see you prove me wrong."

Prove him...? Ah, yes, she remembered now – he'd underestimated her when she asked to join him. She was amazed he still remembered it, though.

"And," he said, pointing to Iza, "_you_ are coming."

Iza's head bobbed, her eyes confused. "I'd ask why you chose me, but I'd sound like a parrot," she said.

"Ha!" Mei laughed. "Good one!"

"I'm choosing you because you've got a sword, and I know for a fact that it was you that killed all of 'them' in the house you were sitting on," Alec told her. "And because we can't risk having guns go off – you'll notice that I've chosen two people with blades."

"But you've got a gun," Wendy reminded him. He looked down at her, patting her head.

"I've got a _silenced_ gun," he corrected. He turned to the rest of the group. "Who has a phone?"

Aria reached into her pocket and pulled out hers, showing the clear screen of the iPhone and pressing the small button at the bottom. The screen lit up, illuminating the slowly darkening room. Roberto held up a finger, telling them to wait a moment, and he shoved his hand into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a phone of his own.

After examining the battery life of each, Alec said, "Put each other's numbers in them. That'll be our communication for now."

The two exchanged phones and punched in their phone numbers, then took back their own phones and looked to Alec.

"You think we'll make it in time?" Aria inquired. Mei scoffed.

"Don't worry about it, Schizo," she said. "Just get the fuck out of here, get the fuck over there, and bring the fucking Harpers here."

"Pleasant," Aria muttered to herself.

"Pleasant," Mei mimicked, once again copying her accent. She was starting to get on Aria's nerves...

Iza walked over to Aria and smiled, friendly. "Let's do our best, then," she said to her. Aria nodded slowly, hand absently reaching for the hilt of her sword. She'd never been this nervous before in her life. On top of that, she'd never had someone relying on her to get out of something alive before.

_First time for everything, I guess._

The phone began to ring once more. Everyone glanced at each other until Sora walked over and picked up the receiver and said, "Hel-_lo_?"

* * *

Honestly, Aria felt kind of sorry for Macey – she was left talking to a chatterbox while she was waiting to be rescued. It couldn't be helped, though. Sora apparently couldn't stand quiet places and Macey needed a comforting voice; two and two could be put together.

What she demanded to know was why the hell Mei decided to come along with them!

The street they were walking on was empty, save for the cars and the animals, and Aria felt a pang of guilt for the people who lived here. Alec was walking out front, leading the way confidently, while Iza and Mei watched the rear. Aria was in charge of sending photos of forks in the road to Roberto.

Bored, she pulled out her phone and switched it to vibrate. If they suddenly got a call, she didn't want the hear the chorus of Beethoven's _Ode To Joy_ playing while 'they' attacked them left right and centre. That would just be too _Die Hard_ for her.

They turned with the street, meeting a steep hill, and they all let out a rhythm of groans.

The phone vibrated in her hand and she quickly looked to the screen. The number was one she'd recognise anywhere.

Panicking slightly, she unlocked her phone and checked the text.

_Mum and Dad are safe. Holly is locked down at the school – also safe. Plz reply if u r OK! :( Am worried_

Aria gulped. At least she knew Holly and her parents were okay. But he didn't say anything about himself...

She ran her thumb along the screen quickly, replying.

_Am fine Daniel. With others. B safe._

She didn't send it straight away, hesitating. What if he was hiding and his phone wasn't on silent? What if he didn't say anything about himself because he'd been bitten? Shaking away the doubts, she hit the send button.

"Roberto sent a message?" Alec asked, not turning around. Aria flinched slightly. That was most certainly not Roberto.

"Yeah," she said casually. "He said that Macey is still on the line and nothing's changed."

"Good to know."

They continued to walk in silence, the hill starting to get steeper. When they reached halfway, Aria's calf muscles were already starting to hurt. They were all visibly slowing down, and she could almost guess why – none of them had had any fluids to drink yet. Well, aside from both Aria and Alec consuming water and alcohol, that is.

They finally made it up the hill, panting a little as they caught their breaths. Aria rubbed her calves tiredly, thankful that they would only have to walk _down_ on the way back. Alec sighed.

"Fork in the road," he announced. He lowered his voice as he added, "One side filled with 'them'."

Mei let out a string of tired and frustrated curses in a rushed whisper while Aria lifted her phone, taking a photo of the two streets. She attached the photo to a text message and selected Roberto's number, sending it immediately.

_You'd better recognise the area,_ she thought. _And we'd better not be flung into 'their' path_.

Her phone vibrated almost immediately and she quickly opened the message, letting out a breath of relief.

_Left_, he'd replied. That meant that 'they' still hadn't made it to the Harper house. She pointed to the path without 'them' scattered throughout it and they continued on, speeding up a little. The amount of cars in the area grew in quantity, forcing them to climb over the hoods of a few and to climb through via the opened doors. They made sure to climb in through the back seats, because they all knew it was too risky to go through the front – one of them could bump the horn or something, and 'they' would come flocking to the area in ravenous hordes. Another way she didn't want to die, and another thing that reminded her of _Die Hard_.

_Ugh,_ she thought as she climbed out of a car, waiting for Iza and Mei. _Stop thinking about that movie Yomi rented. It was good, I'll admit that, but you can't keep thinking of it in a zombie crisis! What the hell happened to learning from _Dawn of the Dead_?_

She frowned at herself as Mei finally climbed through, allowing them to continue. Alec led them around some cars, the amount of them clustered in one spot getting lower, and they were soon walking on their usual terrain: Abandoned and showing the first signs of rush hour.

The houses they passed were virtually empty, although there was one house that was littered with dead bodies. Both Aria and Iza shuddered at the sight of it, but Alec and Mei kept walking. The followed, catching a glimpse of a gutted body hanging from a tree, a perfect _Y_ cut from the chest to the lower stomach. Tasting bile in her throat, Aria walked faster and looked away.

She caught up to Alec, her stomach starting to rebel. "Please don't make us walk past that place again," she begged silently, only letting him hear.

"We have to," he told her simply. "Besides, they'd have killed us if _that_ didn't happen to them."

"They who?" she shot back. "The ones hanging and unbitten, or the ones that are walking around with fucked heads? _Well_?"

Alec stopped walking and turned to her, his expression stern. He suddenly smirked, the cigarette sloping downwards with the expression. "They say that, in death, the walls of the room you die in creep up on you, trapping you. That begs the question – are you afraid of death, or are you afraid of the tiny corner you'll be placed in when you die?"

Her face paled at the thought of it. Alec snorted out a laugh and patted her back. "I'm kidding," he assured her. "But, yeah, we will be passing that house again."

Mei passed them with Iza behind her. "Move along, slow-fucking-pokes," she warned. "I'm not staying out here after dark."

* * *

Kit was shaking beyond control, her fear making her hear the creatures outside. She didn't want to close her eyes, knowing she would see them in the darkness.

"Kit," Macey said, covering the phone with her hand. "Why don't you talk with them? It will help you calm down a bit."

Nodding, Kit stood and walked over, taking the phone from her aunt. She sat down on the floor next to the cupboard the phone rested on.

"Hello again," she greeted. "It's Katherine."

"_Hi, Katherine; I'm Misora_," a cheery voice replied. "_Feel free to call me Sora._"

"Oh, okay," Kit said. "And feel free to call me Kit."

"_No need to worry, Kit – four of us are coming to get you and your aunt._"

"Okay, Sora," Kit replied. "I'll put Aunt Macey back on."

Removing the phone from her ear, she handed it to her aunt. Kit could only pray that they got there before the people outside decided to come in.

* * *

_Well, this is ironic_, she thought angrily. The four of them stared at the crowd in front of the house as 'they' wandered around aimlessly. There was enough there for them to simply eliminate 'them', _Assassin's Creed_ style. However, Aria couldn't help feeling like none of them were going to be anything like Ezio and Altair at the moment.

She glanced at her three companions and searched their faces for any sign of a plan working through them. Mei's eyes seemed to spark with a plan. Aria once again wondered why she was with them.

"Let's kick some un-fucking-dead ass," Mei said, the look of a madman passing over her face.

Alec drew his sword and grinned. "Fuck yeah," he muttered, running ahead of the group and striking one of 'them' closer to the four. Aria rolled her eyes while Iza chuckled nervously, and the two unsheathed their swords, joining the fight. Iza remained calm and collected during this, taking down two at once with every slice and slash. Aria relied on her speed, using both her dagger and her sword as she dodged away from 'them' and struck them as fast and hard as she could.

Just as she attacked one, the moan from another caught her by surprise. 'They' were right next to her, breathing down her neck and getting a tight grip on her arm. Just as she was about to yelp in surprise, 'they' were thrown back by something. The moment 'they' hit the ground, Aria let out a relieved breath. An axe, most likely used to cut firewood, was lodged into 'their' head, sticking out like a broken thumb. Aria blinked and stared at it, only to be pushed away by Mei, who ripped it out of 'their' head and spun it round, satisfied with what she had done. Aria couldn't help but feel Mei had missed her actual target...

The axe-throwing girl glanced at Aria, a superior grin on her face. There was almost a challenge in her eyes, but it was unmet as Alec and Iza passed them and began to clear a path. Both of them attacked silently and held nothing back, almost synchronising their strikes. Alec stuck to the left, bodies of 'them' falling with every slash; Iza stayed at the right, 'them' barely able to even hear her coming. The two of them were like the perfect fighting team.

When a rough path was cleared, Alec signalled for them to go to the house. Iza went first, searching around for something to unlock the door, and then let out a frustrated breath. Aria joined her, nodding to the door, and then the two took some steps back. Once they were sure, they rushed at the door and collided with it, shoulders first, allowing it to burst open. That caught 'their' attention.

Alec and Mei ran inside, followed by Aria and Iza, and the teenagers glanced at each other. Though they didn't speak, they agreed that Mei and Alec would stay to fight 'them' while Iza and Aria went on to find Macey and Katherine.

The hallway was fairly large, but not so large that 'they' could easily slip inside and attack at all sides. As the two turned a corner, they caught a glimpse of their companions fighting 'them' as 'they' rushed inside. Aria raised an eyebrow as Mei let out a laugh and swung the axe violently at one, and then raised another eyebrow as Alec raised his gun and aimed precisely at 'their' heads, killing them off like a natural-born killer.

"Hurry," Iza hissed. She was already making her way down the hall, toward one of the doors. As Iza's hand wrapped around the handle, Aria joined her. The door flew open, but no one was inside. The girls quickly moved on to the next. No luck. The next one was the same. This continued for three more doors and a bathroom (oddly enough), until they finally reached a locked door. Iza pounded against it with her fist, blood on her sword dripping onto her shoe.

"Ms Macey," she called. "Ms Katherine. It's Iza and Aria – from earlier."

The sound of a lock twisting came from the other side, and then they were met by a girl of at least fourteen. Her snow white hair and blue eyes very much reminded Aria of Iza. She watched them sadly.

"Aunt Macey went to get help," she squeaked. "She's not back yet. She didn't think you were coming."

Both of the teenagers flinched and looked to each other, then frowned. A silent conversation passed between them.

_Back the way we came? Or do we wait for Macey?_ Iza's eyes inquired.

Aria's replied, _Alec and Mei won't last forever. We need to leave._

Iza nodded firmly and reached for Katherine's arm, a kind smile on her face. There was the Iza that Aria had been introduced to.

"You'll be safe if you come with us," she told her. Her smile became kinder, more child-friendly. "I'm Iza, and this is Aria."

Katherine blinked and walked out of the room, letting out a breath. "Call me Kit," she told Iza, taking her hand and shaking it. Iza glanced at Aria.

"Now?" she asked. Aria nodded in response, lifting her sword slightly. Her dagger was in her other hand, her grip numbing. She loosened her hand and the white knuckles immediately turned pale red. Kit's eyes found the path they were going to take. Her hand released Iza's and went down to her boots, searching for something. She smiled slightly, and then pulled out what she was looking for: Two nine inch combat knives. Smart kid.

Aria grinned and said, "Are you sure you're up to fighting zombies?"

A look of confusions passed over the fourteen-year-old. "Zom-what?" she scoffed. "What the heck is a zombie?"

A frown replaced the confusion. "In any case," she added, lifting her sundress slightly. Sitting in a thigh holster was what looked like a gun with a silencer attached to it. "I know how to shoot and I want to get away. What more could I need to do?"

"That's the spirit," Iza encouraged, turning to go down the hall. Both Kit and Aria followed, prepared to face off any of 'them' still at the door.

* * *

A frown made its way onto the blind boy's face. "Why so quiet, guys?" he asked. His unfocused grey eyes scanned the room blindly.

_No pun intended_, Roberto thought to himself.

"Macey isn't on the phone anymore," Sora whined. "I was having a good conversation with her, too."

Wendy looked to her, curious. "You just kept on talking and talking," she informed her. "How is that a conversation? It's one-sided."

Sora sighed loudly. She mumbled something about knowing what a one-sided conversation was and then turned her attention back to the rest of the group – which only consisted of Freddy, Roberto, Wendy, and Jun. None of them could figure out how Mei had managed to leave, but it was still a feat seeing as she had no weapons on her.

"Why don't we play 'I Spy'?" Sora suggested. "I'll go first – I spy something black."

Jun frowned further. "Well, I'm out of the game," he retorted.

Freddy ignored his comment. "Phone," he said lazily. Sora clapped once.

"Your turn," she told him cheerfully.

"Pass."

"Roberto?"

"No, thank you."

"Wendy?"

The girl simply shook her head.

"Ju–"

"I'm sorry, but haven't you noticed that _I can't spy_ _with my little eye_?"

"Fine," Sora huffed. "I'll take another turn. I spy something rectangular."

"Door," they all said in unison. It seemed that even Jun knew what shape a door and a rectangle were.

Sora huffed. "You guys are no fun," she told them. "And I thought you couldn't see."

Jun scoffed. "I know what a _door_ is," he shot back.

Freddy suddenly shushed them, sitting up straight in his seat as he stared out the glass doors leading outside. Roberto frowned and watched also, spotting what the younger boy had seen: One of 'them'.

'They' turned slightly to the left, staggering in the direction of the door. Sora rose from her seat and readied her sabre, while Wendy got up and ran for Jun.

"Next floor," Roberto mouthed to Wendy. She nodded and grabbed Jun's sleeve, pulling the blind chef up the stairs. The elevator would be too much of a risk. Sora and Freddy came to Roberto's sides as he drew his sword, watching the doors cautiously. 'They' were right in front of the doors, 'their' movement stilled, and 'they' watched the teenagers with blank and dead eyes.

Suddenly, 'they' launched at the door. The glass cracked, and then 'they' stopped for a moment. The three survivors took some steps back. 'They' raised a hand and pressed it onto the door. It began to slide open, as per 'their' wish. Roberto gulped and nodded to the stairs. The two didn't obey. If only someone else had stayed – they'd have more of a chance to fight 'them'.

The glass cracked again, this time shattering under 'their' hand, throwing 'them' inside. 'They' rolled on the floor as the teenagers inched toward the stairs, and then 'they' were up once more.

Feeling like he was going to regret this, Roberto started to walk forward a bit and sidestepped toward 'their' left. Sora caught on to what he was doing, sidestepping to the right. 'They' were getting closer to Freddy, who had pulled out his gun and was aiming it as a precaution.

Sora and Roberto were close enough to strike. They raised their weapons in unison and struck at the same time; Sora performing a swift and powerful strike to the leg, and Roberto slicing right through the head. 'They' went down without a sound.

Roberto let out a breath. "It's not safe here anymore," he muttered. Definitely not safe, considering that the sun was just minutes away from fully setting.

Freddy and Sora nodded in agreement, making their way toward the stairs. Before Roberto could join them, he had a nagging feeling something had gone wrong with getting Macy and Kit.

He made his way over to the stairs, walking up them two at a time, and joined the others in the room most of them had been in when they met. The windows had a clear view of the streets below, which were still empty, save for the cars and animals.

Someone shut the door to the room and Roberto was joined by Wendy. "Do you see them anywhere?" she asked. The McGrath boy shrugged and pulled his phone out of his pocket. As is on cue, it let out a small chine. He really needed to put it on silent now.

There was one text from Aria. It read, _Found Kit. On our way back. Stay indoors._

"We have to stay in here," he announced. "They're coming back.

The other four let out sighs of relief.

* * *

"I still can't believe you can throw an axe like that," Aria grumbled. Mei chuckled evilly to herself.

"Shame my aim's a bit off," she mused, glancing at the carrot-top. "Eh?"

Kit approached the axe-wielding girl curiously. "I didn't know axes could be used for more than chopping wood or killing wolves," she said. "Do people do that in communities?"

Instead of answering, Mei mumbled, "Fucking kid," under her breath and walked ahead with Alec, leaving Kit with Iza and Aria.

The girl frowned sadly. "Did I do something to upset her?" she asked. Aria patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it too much," she advised. "She's just shitty with a lot of people – especially those younger than her."

Kit seemed to not quite understand, but shrugged and nodded, fixing her cream fedora and smiling at Aria. Her smile moved to Iza, and then she began to walk confidently with them. They had just reached the street that the house was on, and Aria immediately clamped her hand over Kit's eyes. The younger girl protested quietly, but then asked, "What are you doing?"

Iza's face paled. Noises were coming from up ahead – screams and chainsaw revs. Iza quickly placed her hands on Kit's ears and squeezed her eyes shut, leaving Aria to guide them. What was the world coming to?

The screams became louder and the house came closer, meeting them with new bodies and live people out the front. Alec raised his gun in greeting to those watching them pass, while Mei rested her axe over her shoulder, ready to strike anyone that came near. Aria's other hand landed on the hilt of her sword. Kit and Iza kept on walking with her.

None of the living – all men with blood coating them and maniacal looks on their faces – made a move to kill them, simply nodded curtly as recognition and let them pass. Aria tasted bile as she swallowed nervously.

They reached the fork in the road, following the path they had come from, and Aria and Iza removed their hands from Kit. The girl blinked once and continued on with them, and they were soon making their way down the hill. After the sun fully went down and the stars came out, they arrived at the hotel. The glass door had been smashed and the inside was too dark to see.

Footsteps bounded down the stairs at the end of the room, followed by Wendy running toward them with a candle in her hand. She smiled, relieved.

"You're okay," she breathed. "Is Macey behind you?"

Kit flinched and looked at her feet, while Alec said casually, "Macey left before we could find her. Kit was the only one we found."

"Oh."

Both Iza and Aria led Kit inside, following Wendy as Alec and Mei surveyed the room. They'd done so much damage at the Harper residence. All along the walls was blood, and all along the floor were unmoving bodies. Everyone was coated in blood, aside from Kit.

As Wendy led them up the stairs, she told them what had happened. She ended her explanation at the top step, saying, "We need to leave and find a safer place."

All three girls nodded in agreement, walking to the room everyone else was in. While Roberto, Sora, and Jun (probably not Jun) were focused on the fact that they were back, Freddy's eyes landed on Kit, growing in size.

"I guess I should introduce the group," Aria said to Kit. She went along in order of who was sitting where. "That's Roberto, with the blue streak in his hair. Next to him – as usual – is Jun. He's blind. Next to Jun, trying to talk, is Sora. And finally–"

Freddy stood and grinned at Kit. "My name's Freddy. That's so you know what to scream."

Both Aria and Iza shot a glare at him, silencing him but not wiping away his grin.

* * *

They only had a small amount of time to rest – half an hour, give or take fifteen minutes – and Aria decided to use this time wisely. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced around, checking to make sure no one was going to come into the room. Quickly, she lit the candle in front of her and switched on her phone's camera, starting to film.

"My name is Aria Lambert," she said nervously. "This is going to sound cliché and kind of like _I am Legend_, but I am one of the survivors in Japan. I am here with nine others, a few of which are foreign in this country like I am. This is the first day of the end, and as such I find it fair to name it along the lines of X-Day or Z-Day. Considering that _Z_ is the last letter of the alphabet, today is Z-Day."

She sucked in a breath and wiped one of her eyes tiredly. "I got a text from a trainee doctor named Daniel Lambert – he is my older brother and the only person in my family I have gotten in contact with, even if it was through three very, _very_ short sentences. If this is the case, then I believe we – the group I am with – may find people they know. Hell, we could find Kit's aunt while we're at it." She laughed weakly at that, and then paled again. She could still see those people at the house, watching them as they passed. "Already, people have adjusted. That is a euphemism, and I refuse to go into detail."

Aria let out a slight yawn. "Today I have already been tranquilised, attacked by zombies, witnessed my good friend turn cannibalistic on her mother, killed someone's infected-but-not-turned brother, met someone who enjoys this life, and found nine other people with the same goal as me: Find help. I think it's safe to say that I want off this carnival ride."

At that, she stopped recording and lowered her phone, closing her eyes as the candle flickered alone in the dark.

* * *

**Yes, even Aria admits that phone messages in a zombie apocalypse are cliché, but how else is she going to rely a message to whomever finds it? You never know – she could ditch this phone and go for a new one (*cough* not likely *cough*).**

**That's it. From now on, official chapters :D Also, you'll notice my profile pic has changed. It is a picture of VengefulBiscuit's character, Wendy Matoke. Next character, Mei Todashi (who is XDreamKillerX's character) will be put there when I update next.**

**Hope you liked the chapter ^^**

**~Miki**


	6. New Home

**I realised something – you know you've seen too many horror films when you think of **_**Freddy vs. Jason**_** after seeing the names Freddy and Jason in the same sentence -.-'**

* * *

_She couldn't see anything. Every time she took a breath, she was cut off. Her body was curled up in a ball, her feet barely reaching the wall. She lifted her arm slightly, hopefully to stand, only to be met by the ceiling. Her eyes widened, her breathing accelerated, her heart pounding in her ribcage. She was locked inside._

_Locked in with no way out._

_Fear took over, her limps flailing about in hopes of breaking her cage. Her feet stomped against the wall, her hands pounding on the ceiling._

_Laughing came from the other side. Voices, too. "Schizo, schizo, schizo," they chanted. It all morphed into one voice, pain making its way to her ankle._

"_Schizo."_

Aria's eyes flew open, finding herself in a dark place again. Something was making her foot hurt. Without thinking, she pulled out her dagger and sprung to her feet, ready to strike when she heard a distinctive voice yell, "What the _fuck_?"

It was Mei.

Carrot froze and stared at the other girl with wide eyes, reality catching up with her.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Mei gasped. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

In Mei's hand was the candle Wendy had been holding earlier, the flame burning brightly. Half of Mei's frowning face was illuminated, the rest remaining in shadows.

Aria's hand flew to her head, a slight migraine taking over. "How long was I...?"

"Half an hour," Mei told her. "Alec told me to get you. Don't see the fucking point in why," she added as she turned away. Aria put away her dagger and picked up her jacket, wondering when she'd taken it off. She turned around to pick up her candle, which was on the floor where she left it, and her foot bumped her phone, sending it skidding to the wall. Aria grabbed it and unlocked it, feeling deflated when she saw there were no new messages.

She pocketed the phone and turned to Mei, picking up her candle.

"Mind if I light mine with yours?" she asked. Mei gave her a suspicious glare, bringing the candle closer to herself. Frowning, she held it out.

"Fine," she spat. "Make it quick."

The orange-haired girl hurriedly placed her candle over Mei's, lighting the string that had already burned halfway, and then followed Mei out of the room with a light of her own. It seemed dimmer than the other girl's.

She rubbed her eyes tiredly, still not entirely awake, and finally arrived in the room everyone else was in. It was the same room they held what Aria would call their group meetings in.

"Good morning," Alec said with a grin. "Have a nice sleep?"

Mei scoffed, taking a seat next to Iza at the table. "Damn schizo was moaning in her sleep. 'Help me, help me.' God, you are such a fucking softie, Schizo."

"Oh, shut up," Aria grumbled. "I'm not in the damn mood."

The younger girl huffed and glared, crossed her arms in front of her. Alec looked to the rest of the group, letting out a breath.

"Obviously, we're going to have to live as nomads," he told them. "Gypsies, even."

Aria thought to herself, _I can actually see that kind of life happening, knowing us._

Iza sighed, a hand going to her stomach. "When will we eat, though?" she asked anyone. Jun's eyes seemed to light up.

"I can cook for us," he told them. "I just need ingredients and a mini barbeque set."

"But you're blind," Alec reminded him. Jun scoffed, grinning.

"I'm blind?" he replied sarcastically. "Oh, how will I ever cope?"

Some of them couldn't help but laugh. Alec shrugged and smiled, continuing on with his talk. "We've already gathered supplies we'd need from here," he said. "There's some food in each bag we found. I've even given us all a bottle of alcohol to carry with us and a complimentary lighter each from the bar next door."

This was confusing. "What?" Aria said. "Why?"

Mei scoffed, explaining, "Alcohol is flammable, and if we have enough on us to light then we have enough to make ourselves fires when we have to rest, or blow shit up when we need to. And when I say blow shit up, I mean fucking _blow shit up_."

"Huh," Aria remarked with a smirk. "I like the sound of that."

"And with the leftover alcohol, some of us can play some games to pass the time."

Alec agreed on that with a firm, "Mmm-hmm," and nodded, waiting for anyone else to say anything. When no one spoke, he said, "We'll be splitting up into three groups. Each group will have the phone numbers of anyone else with a phone, and we will be going in three different directions. We will travel through the cover of night – just for tonight – and we will meet at the most suitable house we find. If we don't find anything by two tomorrow morning, we'll meet back here to get some rest on the top floor."

"Sounds reasonable," Roberto said. "Who's going in which group?"

"Well, it's obvious that Mei and Iza don't want to be separated, so I'll keep them together. That leaves eight of us left. You and Jun seem to get along, so that puts you two in your own group. I'd put Freddy with Mei and Iza to make one group, and then add Sora to your group. That makes two complete groups. Finally, Aria will be with Kit and Wendy. I'll back her up since she can't handle little girls."

"I said I can't handle upset girls!" Aria snapped. "There's a difference!"

"And that makes group number three," Alec went on, ignoring her. "Any questions?"

No one said anything, which settled it. Alec regarded the group with pride, then said to them, "Let's go."

* * *

It turned out that Alec had to loan his phone to the girls and Freddy, seeing as they all had theirs somewhere else. Darkness had fully fallen in the half-hour Aria had been resting, and she almost wished she'd helped packed. She hadn't bothered to put her jacket back on and instead kept it in her bag, finding enough room among the alcohol and food. None of them had said a word since they'd started to walk, and Aria hadn't decided whether or not to ask which direction they were going in. They were obviously heading on the path alongside the one to Kit's house, but they were slowly walking away from it as well.

Nothing had passed them, the road remaining empty of people and full of unmanned cars. Not even any of 'them' were around. It was a drastic change from earlier that day.

At least an hour went by before Aria got a text from Alec's phone. She quickly checked it, smiling as she read it to herself. It was obvious that Iza had written it, seeing as not even one curse was used.

_Found a house. Ppl r there. Meet up hotel l8r_

"They've found a place," Aria relayed, looking away from her phone to find her three companions further away, unaware that she had spoken. She broke into a jog and caught up with Alec, handing him her phone. He read the message to himself and grinned.

"Those two certainly work fast," he commented. He handed the phone back to her and turned around to walk backwards. He focused his attention of the younger ones. "Mei, Iza, and Freddy have found a place with survivors in it. They'll lead us there when we meet up again."

Both Wendy and Kit gave him hopeful smiles, silently celebrating the news.

* * *

"Oh, God, I'm star-fucking-ving!" Mei announced, snatching the packet of potato chips from the bag. Iza quickly zipped it closed and slung it over her shoulder, being careful not to break the glass bottle in her bag. Meanwhile, Freddy was busy trying to strike a conversation with the guys they'd found. Both of them were quite muscular, one being taller than the other, and both of them were tourists. It was easy to tell, since they were carrying a map and spoke terrible Japanese.

Their names were Jason and Harold. Jason was the taller one, with slightly tanned skin and short brown hair that belonged to a military grunt or something. From his accent, Iza could roughly gather that he was German. Harold, on the other hand, was Hawaiian, with thin brown eyes and long hair in a braid that reached his elbows. He was shorter than Jason, but he was certainly burlier.

"You're saying there are more survivors out there?" Freddy asked, astonished. "Where?"

Jason pulled the map away from Harold and set it down on the ground, switching on his torch and shining it over the blue and yellow picture. His finger landed on a certain spot as Mei and Iza joined them.

"There's a hill that's impossible to climb without a ladder," Jason explained. "Literally, the bottom part has been dug out and paved over to make a mural. A few years back, some rich guy decided to build a summer villa on the hill, and he ended up never leaving there."

"Ooh, I know this story," Mei joined, throwing a chip into her mouth. As she chewed, she said, "The guy had a tumour in his head the size of a cow heart, and apparently he was riding his horse and fell off, which did some shit to the tumour and caused him to _die_." As she said 'die,' she used a creepy voice, like the guy from _Scream_.

Mei swallowed the chip and went to grab another. "They say his house is haunted," she added, voice amused and eager to go there.

A scoff came from Harold. "Obviously not," he argued. "We've been squatting there for a few days now, and we haven't seen a ghost."

"Who said it was a ghost? It could be a demon..."

"C'mon, Mei," Iza laughed. "There's no such thing."

The other girl gave her a knowing grin, throwing another chip into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "Fuck, what flavour are these?" she wondered to herself.

Sounds of paper folding came from Freddy and Jason, who were packing up the map and putting their bags over their shoulders. "Iza, time," Freddy commanded. Iza frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"Iza, time,_ what_?" she pressed. Freddy took a turn to frown, almost scowling.

"_Please_," he muttered/grumbled. With a triumphant smile, Iza pulled Alec's phone out of her pocket, unlocking it and checking the time. She let out a low whistle.

"Twelve-thirty," she told him. "We've got to go back in an hour and a half."

Freddy nodded and turned to Harold and Jason, an air of leadership about him. "We'll head back to our group and tell them where this place is – if you'll have us there – and then we'll meet you back here," he said. "Deal?"

Jason grinned. "_Nat__ü__rlich_," he replied.

* * *

"Isn't this great?" Sora said, walking ahead of them. "We're working together as a team and trying to keep each other alive in a time of crisis. I find it quite nice, to be honest. Ooh, is that a hot dog stand? Oh, no, wait, just an ice cream stand. And here I thought we'd scored."

Roberto tried to jump in. "Isn't ice cream a good thing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Sora shook her head.

"After all this time, it would've melted," she informed them. "And the umbrella is coated in blood," she added with a hint of disgust.

The grip Jun had on Roberto's jacket tightened as he took a step forward, whispering, "Is she ever going to stop talking?"

"Doubt it," Roberto sighed. They continued on, Sora's constant chitchat the only thing heard. His phone vibrated, a sign that someone had found something. Jun immediately stopped walking and waited patiently for his friend to pull his phone out of his pocket.

He checked the message, instantly knowing that it was Iza who'd sent it – there were no mentions of 'fuck' between words or even a curse to be seen.

_Found a house. Ppl r there. Meet up hotel l8r_

"Sweet," Roberto said, glancing up to see Sora making her way toward them.

"We got a message?" she asked with anticipation. Roberto nodded. She fist-pumped the air. "Yes!"

He quickly checked the time and blinked, turning his foot toward the other way. "Almost time to go back," he told them. "Let's go."

Sora didn't say a word, only skipped past them with a giddy smile on her face.

* * *

The teenagers stared up at the wall in awe, mouths falling. Well, all of them but Jun were staring, but he was still pretty quiet as they approached it. The early morning air had gotten quite chilly, and Aria had to pull her jacket out of the bag. She didn't bother zipping it up and kept the hood drawn over her head in a hopeful attempt to keep her hair out of her face.

"Um..." Mei began. "Where the fuck's the ladder?"

The Hawaiian man – whom had introduced himself as Harold – rolled his eyes and reached into the pocket of his trousers, pulling out a set of car keys. On the set was one of those electric car locks that worked from a far distance. The teens watched as he aimed it up and clicked a button, and then jumped when they heard a faint _blip-blip_.

"Was that a car?" Aria half-laughed. Harold and his friend, Jason, simply grinned as a ladder made of rope and wood suddenly rolled down the wall, landing in front of them with a _thud_.

"So..." Alec said. "We just...climb?"

The German man nodded and began to climb, taking his time as he grunted with each push of his feet and pull of his hands. At least a half-hour passed before all of them were up the hill, the teenagers tired from the hard climb. The sight before them was worth it, though. Standing alone at the top of the hill was a huge manor house, at least three storeys from where they were viewing it. It looked so Victorian era, too – almost no one could guess that it was built just a few years ago. And lined in front of it was an army of cars, all of them different colours and shapes.

Harold pointed his electric lock at the cars and hit another button, this one making a car go _blip_.

"Well, they know we got up okay," he told his guests. "We have room in the house for you guys to sleep and eat, but you will have to earn your keep after today."

"Fair enough," Alec agreed. "We are, after all, guests in your home."

Harold and Jason led them toward the house, passing the cars on their way. A few of the trucks had a trailer at the end, the bars coated in blood and with scratch marks along the paint. Aria gulped and continued walking, making herself ignore the cars.

Jason broke into a sprint for the front door, knocking on it three times before it was opened by a man covered in tattoos and piercings. His angry eyes landed on the group of teens and his face was painted with a scowl.

"More deadweight," he growled. "Especially the little ones."

"I'm average height!" Aria defended. Wendy nudged her with her elbow.

"He means me, Kit, and Freddy," she corrected with a frown.

Aria nodded and glared at the man, who simply sighed and moved away, allowing them access into the house. They filed in one by one and stood awkwardly in the hall, waiting for someone to lead them somewhere. Harold immediately left with Tattoo Guy, which meant Jason was the one to show them around. He gave them a quick tour, showing them the kitchen, the living room, and then the "games room". When he was finished, he led them to the third floor, which had all of the bedrooms in it.

He led them to the end of the hall, where three rooms were still empty.

"Share a room with whoever you want," he told them, "but each room can only keep three people – four if you squeeze in _real_ close." He seemed to wink at that statement and then was on his way, down the stairs before anyone could figure out who was where.

"This sucks," Freddy sighed. "There's, what? Four guys and six girls? I don't know about you guys, but I'm not squeezing in _real_ close if the four of us a sharing a room."

"I'll say," Aria agreed, opening one of the doors. "There's only one bed in here," she told them. "King size – that actually does fit three people."

"And how the fuck would _you_ know?" Mei countered. She suddenly cut herself off and smiled. "Shit, you little slag! Is that what they call them in England?"

Aria slammed her palm onto her forehead, groaning loudly. "If you're implying that I've had a" – she cut herself off when she remembered Wendy being in the room – "_thing_, then you're dumber than I thought."

"Considering what we know about you, though," Iza joined, "it seems like a rational thing to think. I mean, you haven't really been an open book – none of us have."

"Well, I haven't!" Aria snapped. "Now, who's sharing with who?"

Mei muttered with a grin, "I bet I know who _you _want to 'share' with."

Aria threw her hands up in frustration and growled, "Sora, Kit, and Wendy, you're sharing a room. I'll sleep on the floor of that room."

"I bet that isn't the only place you've 'slept'!"

"_Mei_!" she went on. "I will put you in that room instead if you don't _shut up_."

That seemed to shut her up, a vengeful glare directed at Aria. Freddy and Alec were trying to contain their laughter while Roberto and Jun just stood awkwardly by them, silent and unsure of what to say. The rest of the girls simply looked to each other, mixed expressions between them. Aria let out a sigh and began to walk toward the stairs.

"I'm going to check out the rest of this place," she told them. "You guys figure out where you'll be sleeping. Just don't put Kit and Wendy in the same room as Mei, got it?"

"Will do," Roberto replied as she descended the stairs and made her way for any direction.

* * *

_Good Lord, I'm bored._

She leaned back in her chair, balancing on the back legs and staring at the ceiling lazily. Two other people were seated at the table – a man and a woman – and a third person was entering the room just as the woman decided to strike up a conversation.

"You're one of the new kids, right?" she asked. Her voice sounded low and seductive, like the voice Laura Bailey probably had to use to voice Lust in the _Fullmetal Alchemist _series.

"Yeah," Aria replied reluctantly, glancing at the woman. She may have sounded like Laura Bailey, but she looked remarkably like Echidna Parass.

_Stop comparing things to fiction, Carrot!_ she commanded mentally. She was right on the description, though. Aside from her hair being bright blue instead of green, she bore a great resemblance to the anime character. Although, the nose ring on her left nostril made Aria a little confused as to whether or not the teleporting Taoist had a piercing as well.

The Echidna lookalike's golden eyes narrowed deviously. "When did you get here?" she pressed. "Ten minutes ago?"

"Forty, if you count the climb," Aria quickly said. She cocked her head to the side, one of her eyes half-closing as she added, "I didn't catch your name."

The woman grinned and said, "Raiza."

It took the girl a moment to realise she'd pronounced her name the Japanese way, the _L_ becoming an _R_.

"Liza," she corrected. The woman nodded.

"I prefer Raiza, though," she told her. "And what is your name, little vegetable?"

_Hardy-ha_, Aria thought sarcastically. _At least I don't look like a hooker_. "I'm Aria," she introduced. "I'm pretty sure it's pronounced like that in Japanese. You might want to Google it."

Raiza suddenly burst out into laughs, the third person – a girl probably a little older than Aria – taking a seat away from the three seated.

"You're funny," Raiza said. Her eyes suddenly became tired as she leaned back in her chair, giggling a little. Aria gave her a scrutinous glare, suspicious of her laugh. Googling something wasn't funny – it was...well, Aria didn't know what it was.

The blue-haired woman's gaze shifted to the table, a small yawn escaping her. And then it hit her. Red-rimmed eyes, bags under said eyes, dilated pupils, an all around tired expression.

"Are you stoned?" she scoffed. Raiza brought a finger to her cherry-red lips and made a hushing sound.

"That stuff might be worth something later on," Raiza told her, turning into a conspiracy theorist all of a sudden. Aria rolled her eyes.

_They won't be worth anything if you smoke it,_ she thought. She decided to not reply to the woman's comment and stood, pushing the chair back in its place. Aria let out a not-so-fake yawn and bid Raiza and the man farewell, not bothering to say goodbye to the other girl. It turned out that she didn't need to, either – the girl simply stood and left the same way Aria did, keeping a distance away from her as Aria searched the house for something to do.

Aria's hand absently went to her sword, resting on the hilt casually. It seemed that, when she was stressed, touching her weapon calmed her to a degree.

"You'd better just be holding it," a voice warned. Jumping from the sudden arrival, Aria turned around and was met by the girl from the table, arms crossed in front of her as she gave Aria a big-sisterly smile. At least, that's what it looked like...

"Oh?" she scoffed. "And you're one to talk?"

She had a point – in one of her hands was a sword about the same length as Aria's, but the hilt and scabbard were very different.

The girl simply smiled, amused, and walked toward Aria, waiting for the other girl to continue with her search for something to do. With a shrug and a sigh, Aria decided to get some rest. After all, she and the others had to earn their keep the next day, and they'd practically been up all night.

"You look a little tired, Aria," the girl said. "Go get some sleep. I'm sure someone will wake you later."

With a nod and a quick wave, Aria made a beeline for the stairs, passing more people on her way. It was amazing how many were there, only a day after the end. But then again, Harold and Jason had been squatting in the house for a few days already. These people could've been doing the same.

She let out another yawn, hand moving away from her sword as she finally found the stairs. She didn't spot anyone in the hall, but did manage to see a piece of paper stuck to one of the doors. Aria quickly walked over to it, removing it from the door and reading it to herself.

_Aria, you're sharing with me (Iza) and Mei. Sorry if you don't like it. Sora said she'll make sure Kit and Wendy sleep okay tonight._

With a smile, she folded the paper and put it in her pocket as a door behind her opened. She lazily glanced over her shoulder, spotting none other than Alec with a tired look on his face, the cigarette still in his mouth.

"Food," he said simply, hand flying to his stomach as he walked by her. Well, it was better than no greeting at all.

Aria silently opened the door to the room and felt like letting out a sigh of relief at where the other two were sleeping – Mei on one side, and Iza in the middle. That left one whole side to Aria. She untied the sword from her belt loop and removed her dagger, setting them down on the floor under the bed. She kicked off her shoes and pulled off her jacket, getting under the covers and closing her eyes, counting sheep as the second day's sun awaited its rising.

* * *

**Sorry if not all the characters got a bit of the spotlight – I went brain-dead at one stage when I was trying to think of how they would find the place and the events that would follow 0.o**

**But, after much thought and constant scheming (mu-ha-ha), I should be able to do more events in Survival.**

**Ooh, and the profile pic has been changed to Mei, who, as said in the last chapter, is XDreamKillerX's character :D Next character will be Roberto, Kami-nii-Sama's character. See you guys next chapter :)**


	7. Oranges and Lemons

**Let's see how this chapter turns out...**

**~Miki**

* * *

Wheezing.

It wasn't coming from Iza or Mei. It wasn't even coming from Aria. But it was there.

Wheezing.

Footsteps, slow and heavy, accompanied the wheezes. Aria's eyes slowly opened, the dim light of dawn poking in through the window, barely illuminating the room. Where were they? She blinked, then closed her eyes. That was right; they were in a house where none of 'them' could reach the survivors.

But the wheezing sounded so familiar...

A scream, loud and high. It wasn't from her room, but it sounded so close. Her eyes flew open, suddenly alert, and she froze upon sighting the source of the wheezing. It was one of 'them'. But how? They were on a big hill that required access via a ladder – a tall one at that! _How_?

A hand landed over her mouth, barely stifling the gasp that Aria made upon the contact. She slowly turned her head, trying not to make any noise to alert the thing beside the bed, and met the blue eyes of Iza. She wasn't smiling like she always was, nor was she calm. She was scared, worried.

Iza removed her hand and crawled back to Mei's side of the bed, beckoning Aria toward her. The girl lowered her feet over the edge, her shoeless feet softly hitting the floor without even a sound, and she crouched down. Aria followed, sliding along the mattress in hopes of not giving 'them' something to eat, and waited for Iza to show her what to do next. The other girl raised a finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture, and then laid down on her back, sliding herself under the bed. The moment she was gone from sight, Aria copied. Under the bed were both Iza and Mei, equally anxious looks on their faces as the footsteps of 'them' journeyed around the room.

More screams, all of them reaching the room. Aria tried to block them out, but the sound of blood hitting solid wall and skin tearing harshly was too much for her. Against her will, her hands began to tremble, the shaking travelling up her arms until she was shivering as though she had a fever. Iza's hand landed on hers, clasping it tightly. It wasn't just Aria who was trembling.

'Their' footsteps had made it to her side, walking the length of the bed until 'they' collided with the wall, knocking the lamp on the bedside table onto the ground. The light bulb and porcelain base shattered, a flash of light hitting their eyes as two of the girls cringed away, their trembles escalating.

What was happening? How had 'they' gotten inside? Could 'they' climb walls, all of a sudden? And what about the rest of their group? The boys? And the other girls? Why wasn't someone roaming the halls, keeping watch of any of 'them' getting inside? Hell, why weren't they killing the damn pricks?

_Pricks,_ she thought cruelly. _Sounds like you're more angry than scared, Carrot._

_Please, don't start this now..._

Iza's grip tightened on her hand. Aria had no doubt she was holding on to Mei, too.

Another scream, this time closer to their room. 'Their' feet moved away from the bed, twisting around to face their owner toward the room's door. 'They' began to walk toward the door, wheezing as 'they' did so, and finally leaving the room in search of the source of the scream.

Aria leaned over to Iza, bringing her head close to the girl's ear. "My weapons are on Mei's side," she whispered as silently as she could. "Pass them to me. Please," she added, remembering Iza's demand for manners.

The snowy-haired girl nodded, tilting her head to Mei and relaying Aria's wish to her friend. Although she could not see her, Aria knew Mei was reaching over for her sword and dagger. Iza's hand left Aria's for a second, reaching over in the limited space the mattress offered, and finally the jian was handed to the carrot-top. Just as Iza was about to hand Aria her dagger, Aria whispered, "Hold on to it. I might not make it back."

Iza's eyes widened, worry gone and fear only remaining. Mei lifted her head, half of her face shown from where she was.

"Are you fucking insane?" she whisper-yelled. "Are you trying to be a fucking hero? You may look crazy, but you're fucking stupid if you're going out _there_!"

She simply ignored Mei, pushing herself out and pulling her arm away from Iza, who tried to grab onto it in hopes of keeping Aria hidden. Aria gave them a reassuring smile and stood, holding her sword firmly in her hands. A small clinking sound came from her blade hitting the scabbard. Her damn hands couldn't stop trembling.

_I will not die here_, she ordered herself. _I'll be damned if I die here, before I even get a frigging chance to see my family again!_

A firm frown found its way onto her face as her feet slowly moved her in the direction of the door, one silent step at a time. She wasn't paying much attention to the room's details, but she knew one thing was for sure: Mei and Iza's weapons weren't in the room anymore.

The axe, which had previously been propped against the bedside table, was gone. Iza's sword, which had been right next to Mei's axe, was also gone. Aria had no doubt that Iza was smart enough to not fire her pistols in a house with 'them' in it.

_If you do end up dying, Carrot_, her annoying voice chimed, _then perhaps it would be fair that I sing the song you wanted at your funeral – you know, the song you absolutely adored and demanded it be played if you died at a young age?_

_I swear, if you start to sing _Oranges and Lemons_, I will commit suicide and take you down with me. Fuck-knuckle_, she added with distaste.

_Funny – I'm not offended. And believe me, I find the song undesirable to sing, just like you do. I was thinking something along the lines of _This Is War_?_

Aria's frown deepened as she left the room, pissed off at the irony she was pinning onto herself. Really, a song about war during the fight for her life? It may have been fitting, but it wasn't the best of times to be hearing it – in her head or otherwise.

She was left in silence as she spotted a couple of 'them' pacing the hall, wheezing and walking loudly as they bumped each other and walked into other rooms. Aria gulped and sucked in a deep breath, no longer trembling but still full of the fear and doubt she left the room with. Who was she kidding? She couldn't fight this many of 'them'!

_Yes, you can_, she reminded herself. _You got into Kit's house, you killed the guy that bit Yomi, and you even killed a human being that was about to turn. What's a couple of freaks compared to those?_

Everything, it seemed. She had help to get into Kit's house, she didn't kill the man in time to save Yomi and her mother from a similar fate, and she ended up committing murder when it came to Wendy's brother.

Nevertheless, her feet willed her to move. She slowly drew her sword and set her sights on the one closest to her – the one that had just left her room. The doors to every room were open, blood in each one save for a few. She knew those few were the rooms of people who knew what to do – like the rest of their group, for instance.

Movement from a room beside her. She jumped, turning to it and spotting none other than Roberto and Alec walking out of their room, Freddy and Jun still inside and remaining quiet. Both Roberto and Alec had their swords drawn, standing to Aria's sides as Freddy crept out of the room with Jun behind him, clinging to his jacket as Freddy led him into the room across from them. Aria guessed they were going there to get Iza and Mei.

One of 'them' was violently thrown out of a room, crashing into a wall and leaving a long line of red along it as 'they' slid down lifelessly. Well, 'they' were already dead... Either way, it didn't get back up.

The girl from earlier that morning – the one that followed Aria around before she left for bed – walked out of the room that 'they' had been thrown out of, a tall blonde woman behind her. The older girl's blue eyes met Aria's lilac before she drew her sword and attacked another of 'them'. She was like a blur, moving quickly and efficiently, getting the job done quicker than Aria thought possible. The three teenagers watched in awe as she took down three more in a matter of seconds. 'They' all fell to the ground silently, deader than before.

The girl looked to the three staring at her, and then smiled as she turned to the blonde woman.

"Follow me, Ms Marikawa," she said kindly. As the blonde woman followed her down the hall, the teens snapped out of their stare and glanced at each other, unsure of how to respond from what they just saw.

"Well," Alec said quietly. "That was entertaining."

Aria punched his shoulder, now annoyed with her rude awakening via zombie, and stormed off into her room, catching sight of Iza and Mei climbing out from under the bed. Freddy and Jun were at the end of the bed, waiting for them.

"Tell me this is a fucking joke," Mei growled, crossing her arms in front of her. "I swear, if someone dressed them-fucking-selves up like a zom-fucking-bee, I will fuck them up."

"Four uses of the word 'fuck' in one sentence," Aria observed. "You must be pissed."

"No fucking shit!"

Iza let out a breath of relief as she dashed over to Aria, angry. "Are you insane?" she growled. "You could've _died_!"

"Who could've died?"

They all turned around, surprised by the new voice in the room, and let out a breath each when they realised that the remaining three people in their group were walking into the room. Sora's walk was quicker than the younger girls' as she hurried over to them.

"Seriously, who?" she demanded. "And how?"

Mei pouted, glaring at Aria. "Schizo decided to go and be a hero and sneak out from hiding," she growled. "She's a fucking moron for doing it!"

"I was the only one with my weapons still in the room," Aria defended. "On top of that, I left my dagger with you in case I did die. Honestly, I was arguing with myself over this topic."

Roberto smiled at that. He said, "At least she's still alive, yeah?"

"Yep," Alec agreed, ruffling Aria's hair. She tried to smooth it back down, and then gasped when she realised at least half of the left side was sticking up. This was not her morning...

Iza sighed and nodded. "You're right," she admitted. She held out her hand, in which was Aria's dagger, and smiled. "Here," she added. Aria took it thankfully and tucked it away in its usual spot, wedged into a belt loop.

The group was silent for a moment, suddenly remembering that some of 'them' were inside the house (_somehow_, which had them all perplexed). They all glanced at each other, quizzical expressions on all their faces. Finally, Wendy smiled in realisation.

"We split off into groups," she whispered. "Leave one group here – to defend the fort, I guess – and two groups go off on a sort of hunt."

It was Iza's turn to smile, a plan forming. "I get it," she said slowly. "We have two teams go out and pick off 'them' while one team stays here in case none of us comes back. Although, the big question is who goes? Most of our weapons are missing."

"Say what?" Kit and Wendy gasped, eyes wide and jaws dropping.

Alec narrowed his eyes, glancing at the door before walking over to close it. He shut it silently and leaned against it, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and twirling it between his fingers. "I think I get it, now," he muttered. The whole group turned to him curious. He glanced up, briefly meeting everyone's eyes. "Our weapons are gone, save for the ones we either hid or kept on our person, and our doors were opened. I know for a fact that I closed our door when I came back into the room."

"After you went to get something to eat," Aria supplied.

He nodded. "And I heard you close your door, plus Sora went to bed with the younger girls just as us guys were deciding who was sleeping where. I saw her close her door. If that's not enough, none of 'them' should be able to get in here..."

"So this shit is deliberate?" Mei scoffed. "Why the fuck would you think that?"

It all made sense, if Aria thought about it. The guy with the piercings was pissed about more people staying at the place, Harold was quick to leave, and the trailers outside were covered with scratches and blood. What other way could they be connected, aside from the possibility that the trailers belonged to the guy that built the place, who could've secretly been a homicidal maniac?

"There's too many people here," Aria deducted. "They want us to 'earn our keep'. Prove to them that we can handle ourselves and survive."

Kit frowned. "But without some of our weapons?" she muttered. "That doesn't really make sense."

"It does, actually," Freddy corrected. "They want us to adapt – use our surroundings for either fight or flight."

Alec grinned. "Smart kid," he commented. He stuck the cigarette back in his mouth, which caused Wendy to frown and stare at it. "We're being tested, guys," he announced. "At least it's not a written one."

"Lame," Mei growled, "but also true."

Now it was Sora's turn to speak. "How would they have gotten 'them' up here in the first place?" she questioned. "Where would 'they' have been held?"

"That is a good question, my dear Watson," Aria muttered. "How, indeed?"

Mei groaned and flopped onto the bed. "Enough chit-chat," she complained. "Let's do something that's pro-fucking-ductive."

They were – figuring out what was going on was productive. Sort of. Taking action _after_ figuring the stuff out probably made it seem more productive. But not as much as the doing part of the plan.

Alec had a plotting expression on his face while Aria glanced around the room, waiting for him to make a decision. The room only held one window, which was starting to show more of the light from outside. She grinned as a sudden plan came to mind, even if it was stupid.

"Screw fighting our way out," she told them, walking to the window. "Why not just go with flight?"

* * *

"Don't be a wimp," he called. "I'll catch you."

She gave him a glare. "Forgive me if I don't trust you to do that, _Alexander_," Aria growled. "I'm not small like Wendy and Kit, you know."

Alec sighed, glancing around at the crowd of survivors watching them. There she was, sitting on the windowsill and getting ready to jump, and she wasn't even seeing her own plan through.

"This _is_ stupid," he grumbled to himself. He turned his attention back to Aria. "You're roughly the same height as Mei, Iza, and Sora. I caught them, they're not dead. Now just fucking jump so we can get this over with."

A blonde survivor walked forward, his eyes narrowed in thought. "If she keeps shouting, 'they'll' get to her," he advised. That only made Alec frown.

"Damn it, Carrots!" he commanded. "Get your ass down here before I come up!"

"Don't call me Carrots, bed head!" Aria paused. "And my nickname isn't a plural!"

A crash came from the room, causing Aria to jump – although, whether she planned to jump out of the room or jump from shock was unclear. Either way, down she went.

She landed on the blonde boy with a crash, knocking them both to the ground with groans. The carrot-top quickly got off of him, rubbing her arm and frowning. The boy slowly got to his feet, his cheeks a little red from the embarrassment of being squished by a girl smaller than him.

"That was painful," he groaned, hand flying to his head and rubbing a particular spot. Aria didn't seem to hear him, her attention focused on something else. Alec's eyes followed her sight, spotting their good friends Jason and Harold.

"You sons of bitches!" Aria suddenly yelled, storming over to them. Just as she was about to reach for her sword, the girl from earlier appeared beside her, hand snatching Aria's arm. Aria didn't break eye contact with Harold or Jason, but still tried to yank her hand free of the older girl's grip.

"That's enough, Aria," the older girl said. "Give them a chance to explain."

"What's to explain?" Aria snapped at her. Pure rage was painted on her face – it was a side to her Alec didn't think he'd see. "They set loose some of 'them'! They tried to kill us! _What's to explain?_"

Everyone around them was quiet, save for the one person they never expected to agree with the carrot-top.

"Schizo's got a fucking point," Mei growled. "Make us earn our fucking keep? Puh-fucking-thetic." Mei nodded to the older girl, smiling cruelly. "Let her go – these asses deserve it."

The guy with the piercings and tattoos walked forward, standing in front of Jason and Harold as the two took steps back. His eyes scanned the teenagers' faces lazily, and then he suddenly smiled. It wasn't a pleasant sort of smile. No, it was the kind of smile you'd get out of a serial killer who figured out a new way of getting a job done.

"Congratulations," he told them. "You've earned your keep. You survived out of those who were given a man-eater, which means you're allowed to stay."

Aria scoffed, her stance relaxing and her arms releasing her sword. "_Given_ a man-eater?" she demanded. "That means you guys didn't subject yourself to this."

"But of course," Jason piped up. "How else would we lock all the doors?"

Screams came from inside the house, causing the girls to jump and the guys to snap their attention to the windows. It was different from before. Instead of closed windows and almost no way of seeing in, there were people trying to get out with 'them' attached to them. One man was hanging out of his window, pain contorting his face as a blue-haired woman gnawed his at arm and torso. Alec watched with interest, wondering what would happen.

"Help me!" he was shouting. "Shoot it! Please, _shoot it_!"

With a shrug, Alec glanced at Kit. She was watching, horrified, and had her mouth covered by her hands. Her skin was pale, like she'd seen a ghost.

"Kit," he said quietly. "Can I borrow your Pardini?"

Kit blinked in confusion, realising where she was, and handed the gun to him wordlessly. Alec nodded and thank you and turned back to the house. The man was still screaming in agony as the woman made her way up to his through.

"Help!" he shrieked. Alec frowned and held the gun out, aiming it at them. He kept it steady for a second, watching them carefully, and then pull the trigger. A silenced bang came from the Pardini, and the man was cut off mid-shriek. His body went limp, the woman still biting at him. Alec handed the gun back to Kit, proud of his aim.

* * *

Aria's jaw dropped while her eyes widened, everything going in slow motion. She no longer wanted to tear apart Jason and Harold, or even Tat Man. She didn't want to reason with anyone or watch the house. All she could think was, _Did Alec just _shoot_ him?_

Slow clapping came from Tat Man, a smile in his voice as he praised her companion. "Excellent work – Alexander, was it? You've just proved our method right. We are all survivors. We are willing to sacrifice our fellow man for the sake of living another day– No, another hour."

The light from the sky was growing brighter, the sun slowly rising for them to begin the new day. The light revealed the damage, the damage revealed their inhumanity. Blood on almost every window, about two or three cracked from people trying to open them. Some rooms had only 'them' in them, walking around aimlessly in search of something to chew.

_Somehow_, she thought,_ suicide's looking pretty good. Compared to this, at least..._

A small vibration in her pocket made her jump, her mobile ringing without a tone. Aria slowly looked down at her jacket pocket, reaching in as the girl released her arm. She felt like crying when she saw the number.

_Daniel Mob_.

Aria panicked and forgot everything, nearly hyperventilating as she hit the answer button. Relief flooded through her when she heard her big brother's voice.

"_Oh, thank God_," he sighed. "_You're alive_."

"What about you?" she gasped. "Are you–?"

Jason strode over and snatched the phone from her, a sneer on his face. Aria's mind went into overdrive, her need to hear her brother tell her he's safe overcoming her.

"Give it back!" she shouted. She went to lunge at him and tackle him to the ground (although, how she planned to tackle a burly man like him was beyond her), but was suddenly grabbed from behind by Harold. He lifted off the ground and held her back, clamping his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream something out.

Jason inspected the phone's screen and smiled to himself, bringing it to his ear.

"Daniel?" he said in English.

* * *

His eyes went wide as the new voice came through. The men in the helicopter with him leaned in close as he switched it onto speakerphone.

"Who is this?" he asked calmly. "Where is my sister?"

"_She's safe_," the man assured him. "_Honestly, she's strong enough to hold her own. Stop babying her, Danny_."

"Who are you?"

There was a stretch of silence when Daniel asked it. The man next to him – Lieutenant Colonel Hector – frowned, listening carefully.

"_My name is Jason Bäumer_," the man introduced. "_I'm one of the men responsible for bringing Aria to a safe house to stay at._"

"_The fuck it is!_" Aria's voice broke through. "_Gimmie back my phone!_"

Daniel gritted his teeth, unsure of what was happening. "Give her the phone," he said. "Please."

Jason sighed. "_Nah_," he decided. "_I'm going to hold onto it for a while._"

"Wha–"

"_Tch__ü__ss, Daniel_."

Jason hung up.

* * *

**Ooh, the plot thickens :D**

**Shout-out to XDreamKillerX for the idea of the zombie fight club. I changed it a bit (the insane morons couldn't take their weapons without waking them, unless the weapons were away from them) and made it sort of different with the whole amount of zombies. I hope it was as good as what you thought it as :D**

**Also, the picture has been changed to Roberto. Unlike the other characters, I gave him some colour (mainly because I had more time and a fine liner to separate the hair from the clothes) and you can just make out that one of his eyes is red if you look close enough. Next character will be Iza.**


	8. Get Out Of My Head!

**Oke... For some reason, I can't get the song **_**Tsukema Tsukeru**_** out of my head... I guess what Aria says before it switches to Kit sums up how I feel 'bout that...**

**This chapter is also a lesson – do not leave Aria in solitary confinement with no way out and no food to eat. There is a high chance that it will not end in your favour.**

**On with the chapter!**

* * *

"What now?"

"Oh, you're finally talking to me?"

"Give it a rest – I'm only doing this once."

"We'll see..."

Aria ground her teeth hard against each other, frustrated with how frustrated she was.

"That doesn't even make sense," she growled.

"And talking to yourself does?"

"You know what? Fuck it. Go screw yourself."

"But that means I'd be screwing–"

She clamped a hand over her mouth, frowning and growling. Solitary confinement was not going well in the attempts of "cooling off", and she hoped Jason realised that when he'd let her out to eat. But which would send a better message – a kick to the junk, or a punch in the throat?

"_Mmff, mm mmff_," she said under her hand. Aria removed it slightly, and she repeated, "Throat, then junk."

Aria grinned to herself, pleased that she was thinking straight now. The choice she'd just chosen was typical self-defence. Daniel had been sure to teach it to her when she was thirteen – punch them in the throat; when they bend down and go foetal, kick 'em where it hurt.

She laughed a little. She hadn't had to use it before, but she was sure she'd pull it off.

_And now I'm bored_, she thought. _What time is it, anyway? Meh, probably isn't even lunchtime. I'm not even hungry yet._

_Boredom sucks, don't it?_

"Get out of my head!"

* * *

Kit leaned back in her chair, a thoughtful look on her face as Freddy sat down in the seat next to her. On her other side was Iza, who had Mei on her other side. Pretty much all of them looked thoughtful, although what they were all thinking about was beyond Kit.

"I wonder how Aria's doing?" Iza asked aloud. Mei pushed her chair back with her foot, balancing on the wooden furniture's back legs.

"Good question," she told her friend. "I mean, leaving Schizo in a room by herself? Fucking stupid."

Kit frowned. Why did Mei always curse whenever she spoke?

There was a string of thumps coming from the ceiling, the footsteps of the person in the room above them loud and clear. Aria was deliberately trying to get someone's attention by stomping, it seemed. Mei let out a huff and slammed the chair back onto all four legs, reaching for something on the table. As soon as she wrapped her hand around a thick, scented candle, she hurled it up at the roof with a hard throw, a loud thump sounding from the contact. The three sitting watched the ceiling, waiting for Aria's reply. Not a stomp was heard.

Iza sighed. "Poor thing," she muttered. Mei scoffed and sat back down, crossing her arms in front of her.

"The hell she is," she told them. "Schizo's just going ape-shit. That's not being a poor fucking thing at all.

"Mei has a point," Freddy agreed. He then smiled, expression cheeky. "Although, she's probably just upset she can't look at this guy."

He pointed a thumb at his face, earning a sigh from Iza and a growl from Mei as she said, "You are one weird dude."

Kit stood and tucked in her chair as she left the table. "I'm going to pay her a visit," she told them.

"Thank God!" Mei announced. "Finally the fucking kid leaves!"

As Kit walked out of the room, Freddy got out of his seat. His footsteps were heard behind her, but her thoughts were trailing to how many Human Rights were being broken. There was Aria's right to not be unfairly detained. There was also the right to not be tortured – obviously being left to her own devices was driving her toward insanity. How many others were being broken out of the thirty?

Freddy appeared by her side, walking at the same pace as she was. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, somehow making that sentence sound flirtatious. Kit gave him a small smile as she walked a little faster.

"Just thinking about our Rights," she told him. "How many are being broken."

"What, like the right to an attorney?" he scoffed. "I thought that was the police."

"It is – 'You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law; you have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you'," she recited. "I'm thinking of the Human Rights. You know, the ones that were started by Cyrus the Great? Natural Law? Natural Rights?"

"I know a few..."

"There's the Right to free speech, the Right to diplomacy, the Right to play–"

Freddy laughed a little, grinning. "The Right to _play_? Who came up with these?"

Just as Kit was about to reply and give him a history lesson, the sound of Aria yelling at someone came from up ahead. It seemed that they had already made it to the room she was in.

_Funny how time flies_, Kit thought.

The two picked up the pace and arrived at the door, ready to knock, when Aria suddenly yelled out, "_I said, shut up!_"

Kit and Freddy stared at the door, eyes wide and confused expressions on their faces. They glanced at each other before Kit knocked on the door. The sound of a body colliding with the door came through.

"Yes?" Aria said smoothly.

* * *

Only two visitors throughout the whole day. It kind of made Aria feel lonely, had she not been slowly driving into a mini-insanity fit.

A cold draught had been creeping in from under the door, reaching her entire body as she lay on her back, watching the ceiling in a starfish-like manner. She hardly moved, like a starfish, but doubted she'd have to vomit up her stomach in order to eat.

_Imagine what fun would follow if you _could_ do it, though_, she reminded herself. Aria smiled sheepishly. What fun, indeed.

The vibration of footsteps alerted her. She pressed her ear against the wood floor, listening for where they were headed. As they neared, she slowly sat up and leaned against her hands. The footsteps – now audible – stopped in front of the door. The wooden rectangle creaked slightly, like something had been leaned against it. Aria slowly stood and waited cautiously, wondering what was to follow.

An object was slid under the door, pushed in her direction. Aria crept over to it, recognising the shape. Roberto's phone?

"Use it," came said teenager's voice from the other side of the door. "The guy that called is obviously important to you. More so, alive. Use it."

Not wasting a second, Aria dove for the phone – literally – and quickly unlocked it, freezing at the sight of the wallpaper. It was a picture that obviously had Roberto in it – how could she ignore the electric blue streak in his hair? – but his eyes were different. Brown; not the blue and red he had now. With him was a girl, probably five or six. They looked so alike...

"It doesn't have much battery life left," he reminded her. "Forgot to turn it off last night." He paused. "This morning," he corrected himself.

She nodded and typed in the first number of Daniel's phone, a white screen with the number appearing. As soon as it was punched in, she hit the call button.

"_Daniel Lambert_," Daniel greeted. "_Who is this?_"

* * *

"Look at 'im go!" someone cheered. "Kid's blind, but he's got skills!"

Mitsuru leaned against a bench and watched as the blind seventeen-year-old flipped the pancake, the now top side perfectly cooked.

"Seriously?" he laughed. "Pancakes for dinner? I _know_ you guys have meat in here somewhere."

The kid was obviously in his element, judging by the smile on his face. Mitsuru still couldn't figure out how he could cook so well, though.

"I'm pretty sure there's pork in the freezer," he told the young chef.

The chef nodded and turned the pancake over again, taking a whiff of the heat coming from the pan. With a smile, he scooped the pancake up with a spatula and laid it out neatly onto a plate. He then switched off the hotplate and reached for some icing sugar. It was also a wonder that he could remember where he'd put everything he'd gotten.

"Someone read out the contents of the food cupboard," he ordered. "If there're enough ingredients, I'll make a feast!"

About five people whooped while the rest agreed with him loudly, and then two of them ran for the pantry and yanked open the door. They announced every bit of food inside and even listed what spices and powders there. The moment they moved on to the vegetables, the chef's blind eyes seemed to twinkle.

"Mushrooms, onions, bacon, chicken, cream, cheese, pasta – preferably penne – and leek," he commanded. The two at the pantry hurriedly grabbed at the listed items, putting them on the bench top as the chef pointed to Mitsuru.

"How long has the pork been in the freezer?" he asked. Mitsuru blinked, freaked out that he could pinpoint his location.

"Since yesterday," he said.

"Right," the chef decided. He turned to the ones getting the pantry food. "One of you, go get the pork."

The shorter one saluted and dashed out of the room, demanding to know where the freezer was. The chef sighed, glancing in Mitsuru's direction. "The stupid one left, right?" he asked grimly.

"'Fraid so," Mitsuru said. "I'll get the pork."

"Thank you very much."

The chef began to pull a pot and a pan out of the cupboards below him as Mitsuru began to make his way for the freezer. If he didn't know any better, the chef was going to make creamy pasta – carbonara, or something like that.

Mitsuru arrived at the refrigerator and opened the top door, revealing a box-full of meat that was yet to be cooked. He spotted the pork, pulled it out, and then shut the door. He was quick to get back to the chef, who was already boiling the pasta – which was _not_ penne, but linguini – and getting ready to fry the onions and meat.

* * *

Another person was leaning against the door, and Aria knew instantly who it was. The girl wouldn't be quiet, and who did she know that was a chatterbox? Sora, that's who.

"She's okay, right? I mean, I heard her stomping on the ceiling earlier – the floor, for her – and then she stopped after this other thump came. She hasn't eaten yet, right? She must be starving. Jun's cooking some food for us."

Aria's stomach growled as Sora said it, and she tightened the ball she'd curled into. She was back laying on the floor, her back pressed against the door and her arms and legs tucked tightly toward her. Sora was right – Aria was hungry. She hadn't eaten in two days. She probably should've eaten when they arrived, but her mind was on other things.

"Aria's right at the door," Roberto told Sora. "Ask her, if you're concerned."

There was a pause, followed by two quiet knocks. "You okay?"

Aria took a second to answer. "Hungry," she replied quietly.

"Jun's almost finished with the food. I'm sure Jason will let you out when it's ready."

This time Aria hesitated. Jason wouldn't let her out – it was Tat Man that called the shots. "Whatever."

"You sound tired," Sora went on. "Have you slept?"

"I'm fine."

As if ending the conversation, Aria grabbed Roberto's phone and slid it under the door. "Thanks," she said. She bit her lip as she added, "Can I have some, uh, alone time? Besides, you guys will get sore butts if you keep sitting there."

The two on the other side seemed to wait for her to say something else. When all she said was, "Sorry it went flat," the two stood and slowly left. When she could no longer hear their footsteps, she lifted her head, tired eyes trying hard to spot something in the darkness. The room seemed to get darker as her companions left, like some kind of hope of getting out was shed.

Some time passed before she actually smelt food, despite how far from the kitchen she was. She could name a few of the smells: Pasta, bacon, onion, chicken.

Another growl from her stomach.

"You're pretty hungry, aren't you, Carrot?" she asked herself. She smiled weakly. "Yep. You're hungry." She quickly stood up and walked over to the furthest corner of the room, pulling her hood over her head and trapping her orange hair inside it. "But you can ignore the food for a while, can't you?"

_Yes, we can._

"We?" She sat down, back toward the door and toes fitting neatly into the corner. "It's we, is it?"

As she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, she replied, _Yes. We._

* * *

The blonde boy that had caught Aria earlier was waiting patiently at the table, seated next to Wendy and the girl that had held Aria back the same morning. He seemed pretty concerned, but was trying to hide it. Wendy leaned forward a little and met his eyes, asking, "What's wrong?"

He jumped a little, then let out a breath when he recognised her. "I'm concerned about your friend," he replied. "They haven't let her out yet."

Wendy could only nod in agreement. She leaned back in her seat and let out a breath, watching as some of the people brought food out and set it onto the table. As they placed food in front of Wendy and the blonde, he stood and said, "I'm going to talk to Keiichi about it."

"Keiichi?" Wendy repeated. He nodded.

"The man with the tattoos and piercings," he told her. Reluctantly, he added, "My cousin."

"_Cousin_?" Wendy gasped. "How can you be so different and be related? He looks like–"

"The guy that committed the murder? That's how I see him, too."

He pushed his chair into its place and began to walk toward Keiichi, but stopped when Wendy asked, "What's your name?"

The blonde boy turned around, his sapphire eyes meeting Wendy's brown. Quietly, he said, "Mitsuru," and walked off, headed in his cousin's direction.

"He's genuinely worried," Kit observed. Wendy jumped and looked to her right, spotting Kit sit down next to her. Wendy nodded and looked down at her plate, unsure of whether or not she should eat. The pasta looked delicious – as well as smelt delicious – but she couldn't help feeling a little guilty. Here they were, eating a wonderful dinner, and Aria was left in that room with nothing. She hadn't eaten in two days, so why starve her further? It would just lead to malnourishment.

Kit picked up her chopsticks and held them awkwardly, trying to get a grip on the creamy pasta. One of the sticks slipped and the crisscrossed, the pasta falling back to the plate. Wendy watched as she tried to attempt it again and again, failing each time. She was determined, that was for sure.

"You don't know how to use chopsticks?" Wendy asked innocently. Kit frowned and let out a sigh, shaking her head. With a smile, Wendy picked up her chopsticks and demonstrated a way to use them. She held them together like a stick and picked up a plate, shovelling a small amount of pasta into her mouth. When she swallowed the fantastic meal, she said to Kit, "Do it like this. That's how most kids learn to do it."

Kit nodded and picked up her plate, attempting to use the chopsticks like Wendy had shown her. She successfully ate some of her pasta – almost spilling some in the process – and smiled in triumph when she got the hang of it.

Mitsuru returned to his seat shortly after Kit's triumph, a deflated look on his face. He poked at his food unenthusiastically and slowly began to eat. It must've meant that his cousin denied his request to let Aria out.

The girl next to Mitsuru stood, tucking some of her long purple hair behind her ear. She strode over to where Mitsuru had been, staring down Keiichi as he tried to ignore her, and then said only three words: "The key, please."

Keiichi looked up from his food and gave her a once-over, frowning as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a key. It looked like one of those old keys, like what they used in the 1800's. The girl took it and held it tightly in her hands as she walked into the kitchen. About five minutes later, she walked back out with a bowl of pasta in her hand. She passed her seat, stopped at the one next to it – which had a blonde woman with a tired look on her face. The girl leaned down and said a few words, and then the woman stood and grabbed their bowls. The moment they were gone, Wendy started to eat her food again.

* * *

The door began to open slowly, footsteps entering the room. Aria's eyes shot open, shock enveloping her. She'd fallen asleep, right in the corner of the room, and had hardly heard the people enter the hall.

She turned around a little, view obscured slightly by her hood, and let out a breath when she saw the girl from this morning walking in with a bowl of food. A pair of chopsticks was in her hand, as well as the key to the room. Aria's eyes went wide as the woman the girl had called "Ms Marikawa" walked in, two bowls of pasta with her. There were two of them and three bowls...

"Is that...?" she asked, letting the sentence hang in the air. The purple-haired girl nodded and sat down in the middle of the room, setting down the bowl a distance from her so Aria could get it whenever she wanted. Ms Marikawa sat down also, handing a bowl to the girl as she began to eat her food.

Aria slowly crawled over and picked up the bowl, sniffing the food. Her stomach growled loudly. As though obeying it, she snatched the chopsticks and shovelled more than she could fit into her mouth. She didn't care if the other two were watching or if she'd be locked in the room again. All that mattered was that she ate.

Another person walked into the room, this time their appearance familiar. Aria frowned at him and continued to eat, pretending to ignore Alec.

"Be that way," Alec told her. "I'm still eating in here."

Confused, she glanced at him. Alec let out a sigh and set down his bowl, sitting down between Ms Marikawa and the girl. "People have been trying to light my cigarette left right and centre since we got here," he explained. "I don't smoke, though."

"Then why keep it in your mouth?" Aria asked. She'd hardly stopped eating as she said it.

Alec merely shrugged and dug into his food, grinning slightly. "This is courtesy of our blind member," he said. "Let's hope he didn't accidentally poison us with undercooked meat." The grin vanished and was replaced by a deflated look. "But there's more veggies than meat," he added darkly.

Aria rolled her eyes and set down her bowl. Almost all of the pasta was gone. "I'll eat it if you won't," she said simply. Alec groaned and began to eat, clearly hungry enough to devour vegetables.

Time passed and all three finished their food, sitting in an awkward silence as the seconds ticked by. Ms Marikawa shifted where she was sitting and gave Aria and Alec a kind smile. "Might I ask your names?" she asked.

Alec shrugged. "I'm Alec," he told her.

"I'm Aria," the carrot-top joined in. "And you two?"

"Oh, my name is Shizuka Marikawa," Ms Marikawa introduced. "And the girl across from me is Saeko Busujima."

More awkward silence followed. Wanting to end the silence, Aria stood and drew up the hood of her jacket again, walking out of the room with her hands in her pockets. "Well," she breathed, "I'm going to get my phone back. Anyone want to hold me back in case I actually listen to myself?"

Alec grinned. "Listen to yourself?" he repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She froze at the door, frowning. "I'll tell you later," she said. She glanced back at him. "You coming, or are you going to stay with Ms Marikawa and Ms Busujima?"

The Takahashi boy seemed to think about his answer, then stood with his bowl in his hand. "Meh, I'll come," he decided. "I need to put a request to Jun for less veggies in our food."

* * *

**Watched all seven episodes of the 2012 Black Rock Shooter yesterday. I almost cried on the last episode. More so, I can't get the Hatsune Miku song out of my head... Unlike **_**Tsukema Tsukeru**_**, I don't mind it being in my head ^_^ has a nice tune**

**And I know I said there wouldn't be any canon characters when I made the forms, but I thought that, since this is kinda AU (indeed it is) that the canons would appear doing different things from last time (or in the actual series). So, yeah, Saeko still got stuck with Shizuka in their escape.**

**Also, sorry if not all characters got enough spotlight – I was in the middle of typing each part, and then it was like, "Oh shit, I forgot *insert character I forgot*! Nuuuuuuu!" But I did manage to put names to faces, and distinguished Keiichi's cousin as a good person, although I couldn't veer away from the character I got his name from...**

**I guess I'll see you guys next chapter :D**

**Oh, yes, almost forgot (rawr, bad brain!) – the new picture is of Iza. Next one will be... Kit. But she will not be wearing her fedora. I suck at drawing fedoras -.-'**

**~Miki**


	9. Nyannyannyannyan!

**Behold, the plot bunnies! Good Lord, this took so long to plan out – add on the fact that I **_**was**_** going to go to Tasmania for a week (and be without a computer D:) and then got sick (RAWR!). And so, after a while of laughing my butt off at TeamFourStar's Dragonball Z Abridged movie and episodes, I began to write this!**

**I hope y'all enjoy it (...wut?)**

**~Miki**

**Also: I'm sorry, but I just had to do it XD I listened to the fricking hour-long one while typing this, seeing as my phone wouldn't load the 100 hour video... I felt the urge to laugh at the beginning, but that may have been my slow decent to madness... I didn't last the full hour, though XP**

* * *

"Fuckity fuck," Mei sighed. "I'm fucking bored."

"Wow," Aria said in a monotone. "Could've fooled me."

Mei scowled at the other girl, pelted the can in her direction. Aria barely dodged it in her seat as it squished and sprayed bubbly liquid along the wall.

The carrot-top let out a whistle. "Nice force," she complimented. Something went off in Mei, but something else tried to convince her to keep calm, just curse at her until the fuckers outside let them out.

"Don't say a fucking thing to me, and I won't kill you," she snarled, crossing her arms in front of her. Aria made the action of zipping her lips, then looked around the room in search of something to do. At least this time they hadn't left them with nothing.

_You were out for one day_, she reminded herself, her thoughts exasperated. _One damn day, and then you get yourself back in solitude with _Mei_, for crying out loud! The fuck is wrong with you?_

According to Daniel, a lot will soon be wrong with her.

Speaking of Daniel, she remembered, Alec had managed to help get her phone back from the damn survivor that took it. Aria hadn't checked to see if anything was different, and suspected nothing was – really, who would guess _1234_ was her phone code? It was too damn simple, so why guess it?

Aria pulled her phone from her pocket and turned it on, putting in said code and then scanning through her applications. The first she checked was YouTube – she could not live without her YouTube. She then checked on her games, checking if every one worked, and then moved on to her address book and call log. If that moron tampered with her address book...

To her relief, everything was fine. It seemed that none of the evil douche bags outside the room had figured out her phone's number code. _Hells yeah_, she thought triumphantly.

She checked her YouTube again, smiling evilly when she saw that the internet still worked. Now then, time for some fun...

She typed in a title she never thought she would type, knowing full well that she could last it when it began to play, and then selected the video. As it loaded, she stood and turned to volume up to full, then moved away from the table the two were seated at.

The video began to play, "_Nyannyannyannyannyannyannyan nyan–_"

Mei's eyebrow twitched. "Turn that shit off!"

"_Nyannyannyannyannyan–_"

"I will fucking murder you if you do not turn that fucking shit off!"

"At least _try_ and last the hour."

Another twitch of the eyebrow. The music was so damn _loud_...

Mei sat in her seat with a look on her face that, well... Long story short, it made Aria think the angered girl was constipated. It was obvious that Mei was trying her hardest to sit through it without snapping, but it was also obvious that Aria was going to be the first to snap. There was just something about a cat with a pop tart body farting rainbows that made Aria want to laugh.

Trying to steer away from further insanity, Aria began to sing along with the tune in a high voice, "Nyannyannyannyannyannyannyan nyan–"

"_BITCH, SHUT UP!_"

Mei leapt up from her seat and dashed at Aria over the table, causing the other girl to break into laughs as she ran and sang while the video played and Mei chased her. It was a while before Mei stopped to catch her breath, panting from exhaustion while Schizo jumped up and down, still singing that fucking song.

Giving up on mutilating the teen with a squished metal can, Mei ran for the door and pounded away like a madman.

"Let me out!" she screamed. "Let! Me! The! Fuck! _OUT!_"

* * *

Mitsuru stood in front of the door, a dumbfounded look on his face as he heard a distinctive, "Nyannyannyannyan," being sung on the other side of the wooden object. He blinked, unsure of what he was hearing, and then jumped when a sudden bang came from the door.

"Let me out!" one of the girls screamed. "Let! Me! The! Fuck! _OUT!_"

Maniacal laughter followed, only drawing more confusion over the teen. Was that the Nyan Cat song?

The girl that had let Aria out yesterday walked down the hall, the blonde woman with her, and raised an eyebrow when she heard the bangs against the door. Mitsuru merely shrugged in response, knowing as much as she did, and let her investigate.

"I feel like I've heard this song before," she said to herself, leaning toward the door. Shrugging, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the room key – probably the one she never returned to Keiichi. She glanced at Mitsuru, who took a few steps back, and then unlocked the door.

Flying out came Mei, the cursing girl that was pounding away at the door. A wild look was on her face, her aura that of murderous rage.

"Where's my axe?" she demanded in a scream, running down the hall in search of said object. Inside the room was laughter, as well as a louder sound of the Nyan Cat song. The three entered the room, spotting Aria rolling about on the floor with her phone next to her, laughing as she tried to sing along to the song she was playing.

A loud hiccup cut her off, causing her to roll onto her stomach and finish her giggles. As soon as she was done, she reached for her phone and switched off the music. She sat up to face the three, her face red and tears just about ready to fall from her eyes.

"Fuck, that was good," she marvelled.

The purple-haired girl sighed with a small smile. "You have a very strange way of amusing yourself," she told Aria. The carrot-top shrugged, a serious look on her face.

"I try."

The blonde woman walked forward, making Mitsuru blush as the excessive movements her breasts were making. "Mr Kuroi said it was okay to take you out for a bath," she said with a smile. "The girls are all having one. Oh, except for your friend, I assume – she just ran out like a woman on a mission, searching for her axe."

Aria paled, smiling nervously. "Yes..." Her eyes glanced left and right. "I fear for my life, now that I remember her axe-wielding skills..."

She then remembered the blonde's invitation. "Ah, yes, a bath." She stood, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. "I could really use one. They'll wash our clothes while we bathe, won't they?"

The purple-haired girl frowned as they began to walk out the room. "Yes, but unfortunately they won't be dry until morning."

Aria let out a groan. "That's over seven waking hours without my favourite jacket."

Confusion was still over Mitsuru. What just happened? Was he seeing things when he saw Mei run out in a hurry to find an axe? And was he hearing things when he heard the Nyan Cat song?

Mitsuru shook his head and left the room with the three others, closing the door behind him when he exited the holding area.

* * *

She counted the girls in the huge bathroom, sinking deeper into the water and tucking her knees up to her neck. Somehow this made her feel self-conscious, being in a bathroom that greatly resembled a Turkish bathhouse with a small amount of other women. At least now she knew she didn't like them.

Aria frowned and sank further into the water. The place used to be owned by a _guy_, didn't it? Why would he have this huge bathroom for women–?

"Oh," she said slowly, barely letting anyone else hear her. "Cheeky sod."

The water next to her shifted as someone else climbed in. Aria lazily checked to see who it was, raising an eyebrow when she saw it was Saeko.

"Hey," the British girl greeted. She quickly looked down at the water in front of her, trying to hide from the people who _didn't_ already know her.

"Any specific reason why you'd be hiding?" Saeko asked, running a hand through her long hair. Knots seemed to have gathered up in it; probably why her fingers became stuck at certain points. "We are all women, after all."

"Meh," she bleated. She sank further into the water, submerging all but the top half of her face, and glanced around suspiciously. She'd never been this paranoid before – especially concerning being in her birthday suit with other women in their birthday suits.

_Hmm_, she thought. _'Birthday suit' sounds redundant. Maybe 'au naturel'? No; that still sounds redundant. Wait... What the hell does 'redundant' mean?_

"God, I'm a dumbass," she said, the water bubbling with her every word.

More movement from the water, this time from her other side, and then she was met by both Iza and Kit. Wendy was right behind them, testing the water with her foot.

"Enjoying your bath?" Iza asked, her trademark smile on her face as she sank happily into the steaming water.

"Meh," Aria bleated again, mouth still under the water.

Kit moved about in the water, smiling nervously as she glanced around. "This is my first time in one of these," she told them. "How about you guys?"

Iza raised a hand partially. "I've been in one; it was an outdoor one, and the view of the stars was really beautiful."

The British girl could only drift away in her thoughts as the others continued to chat. Saeko was smiling as she conversed with Aria's friends, and Wendy had joined them the moment Aria tuned out of the conversation. There was something about that sentence – something about watching the stars – that made Aria feel somewhat nostalgic. A memory tugged at her stomach, reminding her of the old days. She'd been so young, as had Daniel, and the two used to spend so much time together; especially when it came to stargazing. How did they drift apart so much that the only way to talk was through two phones?

"Aria?" Wendy's voice cut through her thoughts, causing the girl to sit up straight. Aria glanced at the twelve-year-old, a question in her lilac eyes. "You seem depressed – are you okay?"

It took the older girl a moment to realise that she was indeed seemingly depressed. Her frown was gone, replaced by a neutral stare at the water; her eyebrows had fallen without her permission; even her eyes were making her look tired and depressed.

"I..." How would she answer her? A simple "I'm good" wouldn't suffice well enough, nor would a mere "Yeah". Aria was unsure of what to say, to say the least. She didn't know how she was, whether or not she was okay.

Thankfully, Iza replied for her, "Aria's just thinking. That is, after all, her thinking face."

She stared at the snowy-haired teen, a silent thanks sent to her as Iza began to soak her hair in the water. There was something about Iza that reminded Aria of someone; who was it again? Ah, yes, Yomi. Yomi always smiled, like Iza did, and Yomi always knew when Aria couldn't answer something – just like Iza seemed to. There were more things there, as well – both looked to the bright side; both had a way with people; both cared more about people around them than themselves. On top of it all, both could defend themselves if someone tried to mug them on the streets.

Who else reminded Aria of someone? Well, Sora reminded Aria of a girl she used to know – Callie, she recalled, Callie Silverman. That girl could talk and talk and talk, and still had friends to speak of. Aria was pretty sure she knew her in preschool. Weren't they buddies during an arts and crafts activity? Yeah, they were; Callie drew a picture of Aria, and she was the first one to call her Carrot. That girl started a nickname revolution for Carrot.

Who else, who else? Damn, how could she forget? Roberto – he acted like Daniel, some of the time. Both were quiet, smart, caring. Both had a little sister (at least Aria _assumed_ the picture was of his little sister), and both seemed to trust Aria. Actually, it was hard to tell if Roberto trusted her or not – the guy was pretty quiet and kept to himself a lot. The only person he seemed to hang around with most was Jun, the blind chef. Aria still couldn't believe that the pasta was cooked by him...

"She's thinking hard," Iza said, smiling wide. "But sometimes it's best not to think too hard, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah," Aria replied. "Thanks for the advice."

She could feel her face fall into a sad expression, her mind going against Iza's advice. It's best not to think too hard, eh? Was that how she did it? Did she figure out a way to keep away the realisation that impending doom was just at the doorstep, waiting to be let inside? Maybe not – that realisation was pretty hard to ignore.

Maybe Iza knew she'd learned something from Daniel. Why else would she cover for her when Kit asked how she was? No, that just made Iza sound like she pitied the older girl; Aria knew from what she'd seen Iza do that the younger teen didn't pity people. If anything, she supported them.

Setting aside her thoughts, she began to see why Iza gave her the advice. Instead, she opted to start a conversation between the five of them. No, wait, six – Sora just walked in.

"I wonder what we'll be wearing after we get out," Aria wondered aloud. "Our clothes won't be ready until morning – like you said, Saeko – which kinda begs the question."

Saeko's expression turned thoughtful, as did the other girls'. Sora slid into the bath casually, joining them, and chimed into the conversation effortlessly. It was times like this that Aria was glad that Sora could so easily converse with people – after all, having no one to talk to would drive even Aria insane.

* * *

The boys all sat in the room, quiet and unspeaking, as they waited for the girls. Mei was the only one that didn't leave for a bath, claiming that she would murder "the Schizo" if she was left in a room with her again. After learning the reason why she would do it, Alec found himself entertaining himself by imagining Aria singing the Nyan Cat song as Mei chased her with an empty soda can for a weapon.

It was kind of funny, actually.

"So," Alec said slowly, glancing at the blonde. "Why are you still hanging around us?"

The blonde scoffed, frowning deeply. "Blunt, aren't you?" he replied. "I'm hanging around because I dislike my cousin as much as you guys."

Alec raised an eyebrow at that. "Who said we dislike him?"

"I hate his fucking guts," Mei quickly cut in. "Locking up Schizo one day, and then both me and her the next? He's a fucking messed up shit."

"Pretty much," Blondie agreed. "Kinda makes me wish I never came here from Hirakawa. At least then I'd still be with my family."

The eyebrow went down. "Wait, you're not from Tokonosu?"

Blondie shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Hirakawa, born and raised."

"The fuck are you doing in Tokonosu, then?" Mei demanded. She looked suspicious of him, like one wrong move would be his last. The fact that Mei's axe was right next to her just added on to the appearance.

He shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "Folks thought I should bond with my cousin, and I just so happened to be taking a year off from my studies. They saw that as a win-win situation; I get my gap year, they get me to do some 'male bonding' with Keiichi."

"And...how old are you?"

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Nineteen," he replied. "Why?"

Alec looked to the dark-haired boy next to him, grinning as he teased, "Congratulations, Roberto; you're no longer the old fart in the group."

Roberto merely frowned and continued to stay out of the conversation.

There were footsteps coming down the hall, as well as voices of girls that Alec could recognise. It seemed that their bath had finished and that they were coming to join the guys. Mei sat up in her seat, smiling a little.

"And now I get to spend some time with Iza," she sighed happily. Alec stared at her, narrowing his eyes as he leaned forward.

"Mei," he said in a serious tone, "I'm almost embarrassed to ask this, but...are you a lesbian?"

The Korean-American girl's face lit up like a red light, her voice strangled as she stood and screamed, "_WHAT?_"

Before she was given a chance to even start strangling him, the door to the room opened and in walked the girls they were waiting for. The first one to catch their attention was Wendy, who'd switched her bloodied school uniform for an oversized shirt and baggy shorts. A tired expression was on her face as she rubbed an eye and pushed away some untied hair. Mei's rage dissipated almost instantly.

"So...cute..." Alec heard her say under her breath. "Yet...so..._young_..."

The other girls were behind Wendy, causing all of the men to cross one leg over the other – aside from the blind Jun, of course.

"What?" Aria asked, a worried look on her face. "Oh, by the way, does this bikini make me look slutty, or just like a ho?"

No one answered her, which caused Iza to laugh. "First time in a two-piece, I take it?" she asked Aria. The British girl nodded, trying to cover her exposed stomach with her arms while frowning at the boys.

"If I see any eyes peeking past the chin, I will not hesitate to neuter _any_ of you," she threatened. Kit stepped forward, thankfully a bit more covered than the older girls, and made her way to Wendy.

Freddy just stared at her, causing Alec to wonder what was going through his head at that very moment.

"Come on, Wendy," Kit said, taking the younger girl's hand. "Let's go lie down – you look dead tired."

"An excellent idea," Aria complimented. "Both of you go hide in the room from any pedo-bears lurking around this hellhole. I don't want to have to spend my surviving time hunting down someone for touching you two..."

"Um," Wendy said, fighting back another yawn. "Thank you?"

Kit giggled a little and led Wendy out of the room, turning for their bedroom once they were in the hall. Freddy immediately stood and straightened his jacket, a slight tinge of red on his face.

"Right, then," he said. "I'll go keep watch over–"

"_Nah-ah-ah!_" Aria stood in front of the door. "You will sit down. Saeko and I will keep watch of the kids' room. Understood?"

The fourteen-year-old went to argue, only to sit back down in embarrassment. Her word was final, apparently.

Alec dared to investigate what each girl was wearing, covering his mouth with his hand as he leaned his elbow on the arm of the chair. Each girl was wearing some sort of bikini, giving Alec a reason to wonder how they'd acquired them. They were each different – Iza's was the only frilly one, while Sora's was the one that consisted of three colours. Aria's, ironically enough, was the same shade of orange as her hair. Saeko – the girl that had managed to get the key to the solitary room – was the only one in a tube-top bikini, her hair also braided into two pigtails.

Alec pressed him mouth into a firm line, and then blurted out, "I wasn't bitten when they tested us, was I?"

The girls gave him a quizzical stare. "I mean, this isn't some kind of coping mechanism my mind is making so I don't freak out over being a zombie?"

Aria groaned, slammed her hand onto her forehead, while Iza smiled nervously and Sora gave him a laugh. Saeko seemed to be the only one keeping a straight face.

When he got no answer, Alec stared up at the roof with a smile. "Thank you," he whispered happily.

* * *

"If I'm left in a room with Keiichi and I'm armed, don't hold me back."

Saeko nodded in agreement as the two girls leaned against the walls next to the door. Sora had already gone to bed (with the promise that she would not say anything and wake the younger girls), which left Aria and Saeko to defend the room from, as Aria had previously put it, pedo-bears.

They both had already collected their weapons, but unfortunately had to hold onto them as they stood guard. It didn't help that the carrot-top also held her phone in the same hand as her dagger, pretty much preventing her from unsheathing both her sword and her dagger without dropping the sheathes. But, she never knew when someone close to her would call. A message from anyone alive was good enough for her – even if it was hate mail.

Aria shivered a little, pulling the jacket a little tighter and frowning. The boys had been chivalrous enough to lend them their jackets, but it still did nothing to stop the chill in the hall creeping up on them.

A small vibration in her hand brought her attention away from the chill, urgency settling over her as she checked the caller ID. She let out a breath and answered as calmly as she could.

"Hey," she greeted. "What's wrong?"

Daniel sighed on the other end of the phone. "_Before I tell you the bad news, I just want you to know that I should be in Japan within a couple of days; we're on this oil rig, I think. The guys are refuelling the chopper and getting a rest for the night._"

"And the bad news?"

He didn't answer for a moment. Panic moved over the urgency. "Daniel?" she squeaked.

She could hear him gulp. "_Holly's school was lost. She's gone, Aria. On top of that, I haven't heard from Mum. I'm afraid that we may be the only ones left, unless we have family out there that we've forgotten_."

She almost went to ask,_ But what about Dad?_ It wasn't until a second of silence passed that she remembered: Dad was dead – killed himself from the insanity. The insanity of the whole zombie-thing or the insane side effect of something else, neither of the Lamberts knew.

"Okay," she said finally. Her voice cracked as she said, "Thanks for telling me. I'll see you in two days."

"_Aria–_" She hung up, clutching the phone tightly as the other girl stared at her. The carrot-top didn't know what to feel at the moment. Unhappiness? Sadness? Rage? Grief?

...Jubilant?

It was just messed up – in and out. She didn't even know if she liked that fact.

"I'm just..." She sighed and pushed away from the wall, taking a step away from the room. "I'm just gonna go outside for a moment. I'll be back soon."

Saeko nodded and watched her leave. Aria merely counted the steps she took as she walked through the house, trying to keep her mind away from what she'd just learned. But it was too hard to forget what he'd said.

_Holly's gone_.

She could feel some kind of rage welling up in her stomach as she arrived in the dining room, making her way through to the lobby. Her little sister, dead. It was preposterous! Holly was a survivor!

Out the front door and sprinting past the cars, she fell to the ground and dug her hands into the grassy earth. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, _it wasn't fair!_

Aria slammed her head onto the ground and let out a scream, her emotions finally clear to her. Hearing about Holly's death – it killed her a little. It was hard enough that Dad had gone insane and Mum was off the radar for the moment, but _Holly's death_?

She let out another scream, the sound slowly turning into sobs as her hands loosened their grip on the earth. It wasn't fair. Tears fell from her eyes freely, and she made no attempt to hide them. They still proved she was human, still proved she felt emotion. That was good – being human and a world full of monsters was good.

But was it worth the loss?

Her phone vibrated again. She lifted her head, expecting another call from Daniel. The phone only vibrated once, revealing that it was only a text, and then ceased moving once more. She unlocked the phone and spied the message, checking the time it was sent. The time zone was Japanese, and it took Aria a moment to realise that the message was a delayed one – it was late, despite the difference between England and Japan.

She opened it, eyes widening at the sight of the number. It was Holly's. The message was a simple two sentences, but it was enough to bring a world crashing down:

_I love you. Don't forget me._

* * *

**ENGLAND, BLANCHET PRIMARY; EARLIER THAT DAY**

"I wanna go home!"

"Where's Mummy and Daddy?"

"Mrs Brown, I'm scared."

She frowned and took in a deep breath, glaring at her feet with an almost angry expression. Hearing everyone crying and complaining – she couldn't stand it.

"Everyone, calm down," Mrs Brown advised. "Someone will be here to help us."

It'd been too many days for help, Holly knew. People weren't going to help them, not after this much time had passed. They'd be lucky to have a police officer stumble in and attempt to help them. _Attempt_.

Maybe they did have a police officer stumble in. There was a car outside – a car that belonged to Daniel's police friend. Maybe Daniel had called him and asked him to find her. Or maybe he'd come of his own accord, willing to save the last remaining students in the school.

There weren't many of them – at least half a class. How many did a class consist of, again? Well, Holly's had about twenty-six, including her. How many were left, exactly?

She glanced around the room, taking in everyone's appearances.

Bobby Civil; he was the oldest one, being in the sixth grade and the only one from the east side of the building to make it to the classroom unharmed.

Juliet Summers; she was from the joined class, and best friends with Lois Lee – someone who wasn't with the survivors.

Ava Tenant; a girl from Holly's grade, but not someone she'd like to be alone with.

Trent George; one of the twins from first grade. He was the taller one, also the more athletic one.

Lulu George; Trent's older twin sister, and the smarter of the two. Also the shorter one.

Devon Blakely; a tubby little boy from third grade and the record-holder of his age group for _Most Hotdogs Eaten In One Sitting_.

There were others, but Holly didn't know them too well – she couldn't even remember their names. There was a girl with a broken arm, as well as a blonde boy that never left her side. She was pretty sure they were the cousins. There were also three children from preschool, who had come for an orientation day. There were a couple of teachers with them, both from Blanchet and from the preschool.

Yeah, that was about half a class of survivors.

There was a bang against the door, making a couple of kids scream and cry. The teachers (Holly only knew Mrs Brown) tried to shush the students, but to no avail. More bangs followed, as well as creaks in the slowly breaking door. The lock wouldn't hold for much longer, judging by the sounds of the moans outside.

Holly swallowed a lump in her throat and raced for her bag, opening it as fast as she could. Her hands fumbled as she tried to pull out her phone – used only for emergencies, her mother had told her – and searched for the first number in her contacts list. The number so happened to be Aria's.

The young Lambert pushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear, exiting her contacts list and going straight for her messages. She hurriedly typed a message for Aria, hearing the door slowly snap off of its hinges, and made sure to read it twice. It was short, but she knew it would be enough to tell her she wouldn't be there anymore.

The door slammed open, screams from children as they ran filling the room. Blood-covered people rushed inside, mouths open and teeth bared as they reached for anyone moving. A couple came in Holly's direction, causing panic to arise in her stomach. She hurriedly sent the message.

A hand gripped her arm, followed by a moan in her ear. Holly shivered and whimpered, then felt the pain of teeth sinking into her shoulder. More teeth followed, as well as more hands. Blood coated Holly as she dropped the phone, knowing that she wasn't going to see her family anymore.

* * *

**...Um... I just killed Holly...**

**I was going to post this in school (thank you, Children's Lit.!) but the whole damn school server was down – that's the longest I've gone without having to find a definition of a word on Google! Yeah, I'm too lazy to look in a dictionary... Not that my school has any in sight...**

**I wrote this over the course of three days and tried to make it longer than my other chapters (is it? IDK). All the while, I made sure to never **_**ever**_** type in Nyan Cat in YouTube search again and just listened to some good songs – I can't seem to stop listening to **_**Kill Everybody**_** and **_**Fighter**_**, especially when the latter has a **_**really**_** awesome Mirai Nikki music video to go with it.**

**New picture was going to be of Kit, but I kinda messed up the pic and need to redraw it. Instead, the new pic will be of...Mina Alabaster – a character I drew out of boredom one day (and, y'know, my USB with all my chapters was gone...). A little info on Mina – she's like Aria (cheeky and funny and has a British accent), she's Vietnamese, she hunts monsters (hells yeah!) and her natural hair colour is purple. She is just the best character I've come up with that hasn't been written about much. I'm pretty sure I've only written one chapter with her appearing in my original story, Monster Hunters... Damn...**

**Next chapter will absolutely, positively include a picture of Kit. I pinkie-swear!**

**~Miki**

**(Did anyone else know it's hard to act out being bitten by a rabid hamster? I sure didn't...)**


	10. Danger! Danger! Food!

**T.T So sorry for how long it took to update anything, guys. My computer screen cracked and it needed to be fixed, but the technicians took so long to do it (over a week D: and they'd said to check back at lunch on the first day!). For a while I'd been using the home computer (which needed a replacement keyboard because **_**someone**_** spilled tea all over it [again]), and eventually got bored enough to start two new original (and around seven Hetalia) stories on Quotev and write a journal entry on DeviantArt which clearly states how I should not be left with my own mind for a week (WARNING: The entry may contain spoilers for Survival. I still don't know if I'm going to use half of the crap I wrote down on there). Heh, there's only eighteen there, but I managed to fill two textbook pages with sixty suggestions – one of which was a simple "Penguin army attacks. BAD END."**

**I sincerely hope I'm not rambling, and if I am then I apologise. I also apologise for the amount of switches between perspectives – I just... I couldn't stick with one person for too long with all the events that are going to happen and stuff.**

**I finally managed to draw that picture of Kit – and various other pictures, mainly anime sketches and a new thing called "Imperfectly Perfect" (pretty much that is me and three friends and pictures that represent how imperfectly perfect we are in our own eyes). Profile picture has changed to Kit, and I will announce the next character at the end of the chapter :)**

* * *

_All I have to do is wait two days. All I have to do is wait two days. All I have to do is wait two days._

Through her quiet exterior, her mind was racing and panicking, wondering how long it would take her to snap. Aria had been anxious ever since Daniel's last phone call, thoughts passing by as she stared at the table. Where were they refuelling? How many people would the helicopter fit? Would Keiichi do something stupid between now and when they arrive?

A brown glass bottle was placed in front of her loudly, snapping her out of her revere. Aria blinked, stared at the bottle, and then looked up at the person that had placed it there. Alec offered her a smile as he sat down on the seat next to hers, a couple more people from their group behind him. Iza sat down on her other side, followed by Mei, who then had Mitsuru sit down next to her. On Alec's side was Wendy and Kit, as well as Freddy, Jun and Roberto – in that order.

What was strange was that almost all of them had a beer bottle in front of them.

"This isn't some kind of intervention, is it?" Aria asked bluntly. "If so, I deny everything and regret nothing!"

Iza giggled, just as Sora sat down next to Mitsuru. "No, silly," she told her. She then placed a hand on Aria's shoulder. The older girl shivered slightly, still not over the fact that she had to wear a bikini till morning. "Sora noticed you run outside and saw you crying. When she told the rest of us, we decided to come down and give you some comfort."

"I didn't," Mei grumbled, which earned an elbow to the ribs from Iza.

Aria felt herself smile a little more, unsure as to why.

"So," Aria sighed. "How did you plan on doing...this?"

"What, give you some comfort?" Kit inquired. She shrugged with a smile. "We figured that sharing a drink would do – even if some of us aren't drinking."

The Lambert girl cast her eyes down and spotted the bottle in Kit's hand. She eyed the girl with a frown.

"You're drinking," she stated. Kit nodded confidently.

"My grandmother always said that a true lady can always stomach her alcohol," she announced with a proud smile. Aria decided not to press further and stared down at her bottle. Her parents had never believed that drinking would solve problems; but Aria felt that she could really use one right now.

* * *

"Yo, Wolf, Alec!" one of the men called. Alec turned away from his drink lazily, as did Freddy, and both teens stared at the man with a question in their eyes. He stood at the doorway, hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. "Your group got called up. Since you got the manpower, you've been put in charge of scouting."

"Scouting?" Freddy scoffed. "And why our group? We're just a bunch of teens."

Alec nodded in agreement and raised the near-empty bottle to his lips, finishing it in one large swig. He placed it back onto the table quietly and stood, glancing at Freddy before replying, "Where're we wanted?"

The man grinned further, a look in his eyes that said he just knew Alec would say yes. He gave them the order to wake everyone on their team that they needed – or at least anyone they needed that they wanted to take – and then left without another word, giving them the simple instruction to meet at the front yard when they were ready.

After having a silent discussion with Freddy, the two teens began to make their way to the next floor of the house, ready to get the people they needed for the scouting job. Alec had to admit that he hadn't been expecting it, what with so many other able-bodied fighters in the house, but felt it was better than the zombie-filled alternative that awaited, should they not "earn their keep".

As Freddy headed up the stairs first, Alec took a moment to think about who they would take. Wendy was out of the question – she had nothing to defend herself with and probably wouldn't be able to keep up with the group. Jun wasn't a good option, either – the kid could cook, but Alec doubted he could fight...

Sighing and giving his thoughts a shrug, he continued up the steps so he could meet the group.

* * *

She narrowed her eyes in thought. "So, what you're saying is," she started, "that we've been given the job of finding shit?"

"Pretty much," Alec said with a nod. The six of them were standing outside, weapons at the ready and questions in the girls' expressions as they waited. The girls in question were the three most reliable in the group that were willing to come: Sora, Aria, and Mei. Their clothes had dried (or at least were mostly dry) and they skill seemed to have the bikinis underneath their outfits, to which none of the males seemed to argue about. The only other boy in the group with Freddy and Alec was Roberto, barely fazed by the fact that they had to do some work and looking more like he was in his own little world.

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Mei grumbled. "And we have to fucking leave Iza here on her own, too."

"She's got two kids and a blind guy to keep her company," Alec defended. "What's there to be complaining about?"

"The fact that she has two fucking kids and a blind slowpoke the keep her company," Mei suggested lightly.

Alec rolled his eyes, right when Keiichi himself walked out of the house's front door and approached them with high authority in his posture. His eyes met with the resident carrot-top's, and a spark of negativity passed between the two. Aria was still pissed about his decisions to take her phone and isolate her for a few days, and he was still pissed that she'd tried to challenge him, kill him at best.

He stopped just in front of the group, frowning at each of them before beginning his instructions. "We've received word that a department store nearby is easy access to food, and we all know that our current rations won't last forever," he explained. "I need your group to get in there, eliminate any undead lurking about the place, and bring back some more food."

Aria scoffed, taking a hands-on-hips position. "In others words, you want us to grab your Twinkies and a packet of Doritos while we're at it. On top of that, you want some drinks." She then shrugged, raising her hands with the action and turning on her heel, making her way toward the ladder that led down to the ground. "I suppose the worst that could happen is that we get conflicted between Coke and Pepsi, eh?"

The older man was left to growl at her, a scowl reaching his face as everyone else followed Aria with a snigger.

"We won't forget the Gummy Bears, either!" Aria went on.

* * *

"Stupid motherfucking assholes, making us work because we're cheap labour," Mei grumbled, kicking a rock along the footpath. The six of them had been searching for a few hours, slowly finding their way to the store that Keiichi had told them about.

Obviously, things weren't going too well in the group – Roberto was barely putting in any words to say, while Sora took every chance she got to say something; Mei was swearing off her head, constantly badmouthing the survivors in the house on the hill; Aria was being more than depressed, probably going to borderline unresponsive; on top of it all, the boys seemed to be the only ones taking care of the situation.

_That's it_, Alec thought, somewhat annoyed. _We need to get this damn job over with._

He stopped walking and turned on his heel, facing the rest of the group sternly. Mei stopped her cursing, tightening her grip on her axe with an indifferent expression on her face; Aria looked up with a bored face; Roberto glanced Alec's way, signalling that he was listening; and Sora – well, Sora actually shut up for a few seconds to see what was wrong.

"Listen," Alec sighed, shoving a hand into one of his pockets. "We've been given a job; so let's just get it over with and go back to the house, okay?" He cut Mei off as she went to argue. "Yes, Mei, I know we're being treated like cheap labour. Get over it for a second and think about what we could loot from a department store. I mean, seriously, there could be entertaining shit there."

Mei raised a sceptical eyebrow, seeming to think about what he'd said, and then grinned like a madwoman. "Hell the fuck yes," she muttered to herself.

"Okay, then," Alec said. "Let's get going."

* * *

Boredom was at the edge of Mitsuru's mind, threatening to ruin his wait for the six members of the now-split group. They hadn't split intentionally – it was rather a plan of Keiichi's, so that the house had more food – but Mitsuru still couldn't help but feel something wasn't right.

None of 'them' had been hanging around lately – it was like "they'd" just vanished without a trace near the hill. It worried him a little; what if "they" had moved on to another area, right where the six scouts were sent?

An hour passed as he waited longer, noticing nothing around him as footsteps arrived at his door and a small knock sounded lightly.

"Hey, Mitsuru," Iza's voice came through. Mitsuru blinked and looked away from the window, finally realising how sore his back and his neck were.

"Yeah?" he asked.

Iza grinned and glanced behind her, causing Mitsuru to stare over her shoulder and at the blind chef, Jun. "Jun doesn't want to stay with us girls, so I thought he'd be better off here with you," she told him. "That okay?"

He stood from his seat and stretched, feeling bones along his spine crack. "Yeah, that's okay," he told her.

With a smile, she stood aside and allowed Jun – who looked rather uncomfortable – to walk inside and find his way to Mitsuru. "This way, Jun," Mitsuru advised, using his voice to guide the blind teen. "Watch out for the coffee table – just sidestep a little to the left."

He did as he was told, and then finally Jun was seated in a chair at the small round table. Iza left once he was seated, which left the two guys by themselves. Mitsuru was at a loss for what to do, seeing as it had been just him a few moments before.

A few moments of silence passed, consisting of nothing but Mitsuru staring out the window and Jun sitting quietly by himself.

The fact that there was awkwardness mixed in with that silence didn't seem to make any sense to the blonde boy.

* * *

All six of them were tired and panting, holding their weapons with both hands as though they expected the dead bodies to rise once again.

When nothing moved, they dropped to the ground and released relieved breaths. The horde they'd just fought off wasn't as big as the one outside Kit's house, but it was full of larger undead and a small quantity of smaller undead – which, of course, were gleefully hacked apart by Mei and her axe.

From what Aria could see, the store they were trying to raid had been locked for the night before; which meant that none of 'them' had managed to get inside.

"Do we just...?" she panted, weakly pointing to the glass doors. "Or do we just...?"

"I think we just..." Alec replied, panting just as much as the rest of them. "Yeah... We just..."

Being the first to stand up straight, Mei staggered toward the glass doors and gave them a hard shove. They budged, but they were obviously locked.

She shook them again and again, impatient.

"Open the fuck up!" she ordered, frustrated. Sighing, Aria joined her.

"You gotta smash it with the axe!" she told her. "It's locked from the inside!"

That started a bicker between the two, leaving the remaining four to find an alternate way inside. They split off into two pairs, Sora going with Roberto and Freddy going with Alec. One pair headed left. One pair headed right.

The bickering two remained where they'd previously been, still arguing over what to do about the door. Aria kept on ordering Mei to smash the window open; while Mei kept on arguing back that she would "do as she fucking wants".

A few moments passed before they started to quieten down, and by that time the others had made it to the corners of the shopping centre. Both sighed, leaned against the doors, and crossed their arms in front of them.

"We really need to get this shit together," Aria muttered, speaking mostly to herself. Mei seemed to nod in agreement, and then frowned.

"Any other suggestions on how the fuck we get inside?" she inquired, her question genuine but still laced with a sarcastic wit.

Aria considered her answer, and then replied, "Air vents."

Those two words were simple enough to understand, especially the plan forming around them. With a grin, Mei glanced around their area in search of an air vent. Sure enough, there was one near their left, residing very much higher than either could reach. The two girls glanced at each other, and then exchanged nods before moving.

* * *

With a twitch of his brow, Alec resisted the urge to kick a nearby dumpster. They'd left for only half an hour – thirty damn minutes – and already Aria and Mei had disappeared. There was no sign of where they'd gone, nor was there any note left that said anything about what had happened.

The door was still in one piece; the girls' weapons had been taken with them; and there were no bloodstains on the ground.

"Anyone got any clue for what happened to them?" he asked, sighing. Everyone else shook their heads, frowning as they thought long and hard.

Alec sighed again and looked around the area, finally taking notice of what could've let the two girls inside. He strode over to the intercom device hooked into the wall and examined it for a moment, and then pressed one of the buttons.

"Test, one-two-three," he announced into the speaker. He removed his finger from the button and waited a few seconds.

The reply came, "_What can I do y'for?_"

* * *

_Why did I do this? Why did I do this? Why did I do this? Why did I do this? Why did I do this?_

"Move your ass!" Mei commanded, japing Aria's leg with the handle of her axe. Aria flinched, trying her hardest to control her breathing.

"S-Shut up!" she whimpered back. "I'm doing my best here!"

She thought she was, what with her crawling through at least a quarter of the whole place's circulation system while at the same time crawling through a _closed space_.

"_Weak_," Mei growled, displeased. Aria jabbed her foot back as hard as she could, feeling contact with Mei's shoulder. The other girl cursed to herself while Aria started moving again, smiling to herself.

* * *

"_Yeah, two girls climbed into the air vent above you guys a little before you arrived_," the voice said. "_By the way, did you guys come from that house over on the hill?_"

"Yeah," Alec replied, frowning. "Hey, where do you think they'd be right now?"

The voice scoffed, replied, "_They best hope they don't fall into the candy store; I locked a whole bunch of 'them' in there before I got comfy here with my gun-nut friend._"

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Im sorry, _what_?" he demanded. The voice laughed hysterically.

"_Kidding, kidding. We killed 'em all before we settled down. So, do you want to come in the same way your friends did or are you wanting me to open those doors you have been so patient to wait by?_"

* * *

"Aha! An opening!"

"Well, get moving!"

"I am, I am!"

Aria held her sword tightly and brought it around so that she could jab the grating in front of her. She gave it a hard poke to the centre and down it went, crashing onto the floor with a loud thud.

"I'll go first," Aria ordered. Mei didn't make any arguments and waited patiently as the carrot-top crawled toward the opening, peeking out cautiously and then carefully trying to lower herself down.

The room they'd emerged into was a deli area, locked off from the rest of the shopping places and such. Aria couldn't recognise a couple of the logos for some of the stores, but she sure as hell knew a McDonalds and a Subway when she saw one!

Tables were neat and chairs were in their rightful places, not a scrap of rubbish to be seen. Directly below her was the grating, snapped in half from the impact of the fall. Aria gulped in worry as she slowly slid herself down.

She landed on the ground with a hard thump of her feet, and then fell back as her feet tingled with pain. Aria sucked in a breath and let one out, moving aside so that Mei could drop down as well. The younger girl landed the moment Aria had moved, her axe stabilising her balance and keeping her upright.

Both girls stood and glanced around the area, curiously taking in how many food stands were there. In total, there were eight places to eat from.

Stomachs grumbled, and immediately they sped off toward the food stand of their choice.

Aria raced for the Subway stand, making a beeline for the drinks and yanking out a bottle of Vanilla Coke. Mei ran straight for the McDonalds stall and vaulted over the bench, heading straight for the ice-cream machine. Instead of grabbing a cup used for the sundaes, she grabbed a large cup for the drinks and started serving herself a large cup of ice-cream.

The two girls met back at a table between the two stalls, immediately digging into the food they'd grabbed in a heartbeat. Aria held in her hands a foot-long sub with room-temperature teriyaki chicken in it, while Mei chowed down on some fries – also room-temperature.

The moment they were almost finished with their food and beginning to drink their drinks, footsteps coming from outside of the food area alerted them.

Both of them stood, weapons at the ready as they swallowed the food in their mouths, watching every entrance with a glare. They'd been certain that none of 'them' were inside, so what else would be?

"Hey!" Alec's voice rang out, surprising them. "Quit hogging all the food!"

* * *

His lungs were begging for air, the smoke suffocating him too much to let him breathe. Mitsuru ran through the hall as fast as he could, Jun behind him and grasping his shirt for guidance. How the hell had this happened? How the crap did the house set on fire?

"Let me go!" a child's voice came. "Iza! Help!"

Through the smoke, he could just barely make out the form of a child being picked up by a taller form – an armed form.

The taller form turned to Mitsuru as it hoisted to child's form over its shoulder, and then aimed its gun right at the boys. A shot was fired, and Mitsuru almost couldn't figure out what the bullet had hit.

_Almost_.

Pain seared through his leg, and he dropped to the ground with a yelp. His hands flew to the wound, feeling warm blood flowing under his palms.

"Mitsuru, what happened?" Jun asked, still keeping hold of the wounded boy's shirt. Mitsuru didn't answer, but kept his eyes on the form stalking over to them. The child's form was limp, resting over the armed form's shoulder still.

The armed form rushed at Jun, knocking him unconscious with a single blow to the head. The blind teen went down, only to be hoisted over the form's other shoulder.

Mitsuru stared up at the form with wide eyes, and then glared in scorn. Slowly, he began to figure out why the house was on fire, and how it had happened; this monster must've set it alight from the ground level and then killed anyone that dared to put it out!

The gun was raised to Mitsuru's eye level, and before he knew it the world was gone.

* * *

**Dear God, I'm killing a character per chapter it seems!**

**Hope to see you next chappie! Next character being drawn will be Alec, m'kay?**


End file.
